In Mumbai: Cybercriminal poses as bank official, cheats man of Rs79,000

The criminal told him that his card would be blocked because he has not given information to complete the ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ procedure.

Mumbai

Ghanekar said he was in a hurry and gave the card details. He did not suspect anything and also gave the One Time Password that he received on his mobile phone (HT)

A man lost Rs79,000 after a cybercriminal posing as a bank official called him and took his debit card details.

The criminal told him that his card would be blocked because he has not given information to complete the ‘Know Your Customer (KYC)’ procedure.

Although the incident took place on December 28 last year, the 43-year-old victim Ramesh Ghanekar is struggling to file an FIR. He had given a written complaint to Goregaon police station and another written complaint to cyber police station at BKC a couple of weeks ago.

Ghanekar, a contractor, received a phone call and the caller identified himself as a bank official. The accused told Ghanekar that the bank needs information to complete its ‘Know Your Customer’ process.

Ghanekar said he was in a hurry and gave the card details. He did not suspect anything and also gave the One Time Password that he received on his mobile phone. The accused also took details of the debit card used by Ghanekar’s wife.

When Ghanekar questioned him about the money being withdrawn from his account, the accused replied that it was part of their process and the money would be deposited in his account later. After the accused withdrew Rs79,000, Ghanekar realised that he had been cheated and blocked the number.

Deputy commissioner of police (cyber) Akhilesh Kumar Singh said: “He is looking into the issue.”