Man poses as bank manager, cheats 60-year-old of ₹27,250

The Kamothe police on Tuesday registered a case against an unidentified accused, who allegedly posed as a bank official and cheated a 60-year-old woman of ₹27,250

The Kamothe police on Tuesday registered a case against an unidentified accused, who allegedly posed as a bank official and cheated a 60-year-old woman of ₹27,250 after getting her debit card details. According to police, Shanta Solanki, received a call from an unknown number at 11.30am on Sunday.

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Solanki, a retired officer of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) market department, lives with her son Bipin, a sales manager. The caller identified himself as Om Prakash Sharma and asked her if Bipin was home. When she said that he wasn’t, Sharma introduced himself as the manager of the Bank of Baroda’s Kamothe branch, where she has her bank account.

He told her that her debit card has been blocked and that he had already spoken to Bipin about it. He then said that to unblock it, she would have to share an eight-digit code that she would receive on her phone. Solanki believed him and gave him the code. The caller then started asking her for details about her other debit card, linked to her account in the Central Bank of India. Solanki became suspicious and asked him why he requires the details. The caller then said she could come and meet him at the branch office and cut the call.

She immediately called Bipin, who said he had not had any conversation with the branch manager. Later, she got two alerts on her phone, informing her that ₹2,000 and ₹25,250 had been withdrawn from her account . She then visited the branch and found that no one named Sharma works there. “We have registered a case. We will seek help of the cyber cell to trace the caller’s details,” said an officer from Kamothe police station.