MUMBAI: An auto-rickshaw driver, Ramanuj Varma (44), fell victim to a cunning swindler who pilfered Rs40,000 from his account by fraudulently obtaining his automated teller machine (ATM) card while he was waiting at the bank’s ATM kiosk in Borivli (West) on Wednesday. Borivli police registered the case on Saturday.
The incident transpired when Varma visited the ATM to withdraw funds to pay for his son’s college admission fees.Varma has saved the money from his daily earnings over the last few months to pay his son’s fees.
Varma was at the nationalised bank’s ATM centre at Vajira Naka branch in Borivli (West) when an unidentified individual approached him, offering assistance in withdrawing the money. “The unknown person observed that I was unfamiliar with operating the ATM card. He approached me and offered to help me withdraw the money. He took the card, inserted it into the machine, and requested my ATM card PIN. He then informed me that there was an issue with my card, preventing the withdrawal of funds,” Varma stated in the FIR.
As the person departed the ATM premises, he handed Varma a different card. “Varma proceeded to another ATM on the premises to verify the card, only to discover that the person had given him someone else’s card. Shortly after, he received four text messages, each notifying him of Rs10,000 withdrawals made using his card. The team is endeavoring to track down the accused with the aid of closed circuit television (CCTV) footage from the ATM premise where the accused utilized Varma’s card to withdraw the money,” a police officer from the Borivli police station said.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 318 (4) (cheating) against the unknown perpetrator.