Mumbai lawyer loses ₹62,000 to card cloning, criminal withdraws money in the United States

Mumbai city news: According to the police, the victim got a message on her phone at 1am, informing her that money had been debited from her account.

A lawyer from Lokhandwala in Mumbai lost Rs62,000 to debit card fraud, as her money was withdrawn in the United States last month. The woman approached her bank asking for a refund, after which she was asked to approach her local police station to file a FIR against the unidentified cyber criminal.

Picture for representation

According to her complaint, she was at home when she received a message on her mobile phone around 1am on June 1. The message was sent from her Indian state-owned bank, alerting her about the money transaction made from her account.

The woman couldn’t do anything at night, and approached the bank the next morning where she was informed that the money was withdrawn from her account using her debit card. The bank also informed that the money was withdrawn in the USA.

The woman registered an FIR with the local police this week. A police official requesting anonymity said, “We do not know how the cyber fraudster managed to withdraw the amount. We are taking help from cyber police to investigate the case.”

Advocate Vicky Shah, a cyber-expert said, “The card can only be used internationally once it is international debit enabled. Perpahs the victim’s card was internationally enabled prior to being cloned. It needs to be found out if it’s a magnetic strip card or an EMV chip card. If it’s an EMV chip card it is very difficult to be cloned, and then it’s a unique case. As a preventive measure, customers should replace their existing cards with EMV chip cards.”