‘Helpful’ man cheats Juinagar woman of `31K

The Nerul police registered a case on Friday after a 36-year-old woman complained that she had lost Rs31,000, falling prey to a debit card fraudster.

According to the police, Sakshi Sawant, a resident of Sector 25 in Juinagar, went to withdraw money from an ATM kiosk near her house on April 28.

After withdrawing cash in the first transaction, she opted for the second one. However, she could not do so because of a glitch in the system.

“An unidentified man, who was waiting outside, entered the kiosk and volunteered to help her withdraw cash. He took her debit card and withdrew money for her,” said a police officer from Nerul police station.

But the man kept the original card, and returned her a fake one that looked exactly like the original one

Sawant did not realise that and came home with the fake card.

She realised that she had been cheated only after she received an alert after sometime that Rs 31,000 had been debited from her account.

She called up bank officials who confirmed that the debit card she had with her was a fake one.

She then approached the police and registered a first information report.

A case under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and 366a of the IT Act has been registered against the accused.

This has become a common modus operandi to cheat people, said the police.

The police have been creating awareness among residents to be alert of card fraud.

Last year, the total number of card fraud cases registered was 530.

According to the officials from the cyber cell, three people lose money from their bank accounts to cyber fraudsters every day. They add that cyber criminals target residents and cheat them of huge amounts by using their credit cards and debit cards. The officers said around 90% of these cases are vishing. Criminals call people posing as bank officials and ask for their credit or debit card details.