‘Bank employee’ from Jharkhand cheats man of `34K

A trailer carrying a chemical toppled while manoeuvring a turn at Palaspa Phata in Panvel on Wednesday. The chemical spilled on the road, making it dangerous for other motorists. No injuries were reported in the accident.

A 25-year-old man was cheated of Rs34,590 by an online fraudster claiming to be bank representatives who used the card details of the victim for online shopping. The Rabodi police have registered a case and are investigating the matter. They have found the call was made from Jharkhand.

According to the police, the complainant Mukesh Dhange, a resident of Khopat, told the police in his statement that on November 21, he received a call at 5.15pm from an unknown number.

The caller claimed to be a representative of a nationalised bank.

The fraudster told Dhange that his account was having problems and his debit card was about to be blocked.

The fraudster then told Dhange his card was being upgraded and would be unblocked only if he shared the details.

“Dhange then shared his bank details with the fraudster, who gave him assurance that he will soon update the card and kept the phone on,” said KG Chavan, senior inspector, Rabodi police station.

“After a while, the fraudster made online shopping transaction and the amount was debited from the card. When Dhange told the fraudster that the amount had been debited, the fraudster assured him the amount would be refunded after the card was upgraded,” said Chavan.

A case has been register at Rabodi police station on Tuesday under section 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code and the relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.

“We have registered a case and started the investigation. The number was traced to Jharkhand. We are in the process of sending a team to Jharkhand to trace the fraudster,” said Chavan.

HT PHOTO