Retd Command Hospital principal matron loses Rs 1.22 lakh to card fraud

PUNE: A retired principal matron (76) of the Command Hospital lost over Rs1.22 lakh to the trick of a fraudster, who called her from three cellphone numbers as an RBI official and sought her debit card details to prevent its deactivation.

Though the incident had occurred in November last year, the fraud came to light after the woman registered an FIR with the Kondhwa police on Wednesday. Complainant J Suganaamma, a resident of Salunke Vihar Road, told the police that she had her pension account with the Bank of India’s Sachapeer Street branch.



Around 11.30am on November 26, 2018, Suganaamma was on her way to Hinjewadi to see a flat. “A man called me and identified himself as a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official. He was not audible because of poor network. I heard him saying that my debit card would soon get deactivated. I disconnected the call,” she said in the FIR.

The fraudster called her again from another number. But this time too he was not audible. She disconnected the call. The police said the man called her again from another number. He was audible this time and convinced her to share the card details with him, the police said. She also received an OTP on her cellphone and shared it with him.

The woman said that the same evening, she told a friend to check the balance in her bank account. It was then she realized that the caller had transferred Rs1,22,559 via Net banking in five transactions to an e-wallet.

Kondhwa police sub-inspector Pandurang Deokate said,“The woman had initially filed a complaint with the cybercrime cell, which conducted a preliminary inquiry. The cell later referred the case to the Kondhwa police.”

He added, “Another reason for the delay was that she was hospitalized and her statement could not be recorded instantly. We registered a cheating complaint under sections 419 and 420 of the IPC after she approached us.”

Senior inspector Anil Patil and in-charge of the Kondhwa police said, “The man made the calls from Jharkhand. We are finding if he transferred the money from an e-wallet to a bank or used it for other purposes. We will check the woman’s bank statement and seek experts’ help to track the money trail.”