Fraud telecaller dips into retired government staffer’s account, steals Rs 1 lakh

THANE: A retired government employee from Thane lost Rs 1 lakh from her bank account to a fraud caller recently.

The complainant, Rema Ramakrishnan, had searched the Internet on February 12 for the helpline number of a private bank she has an account with, to find out about how to change her home address. It later turned out that the phone number did not belong to the bank.

The tele-calling executive, who spoke fluent English, told the woman that changes could be done using a mobile phone application. “I did not realise that the phone number (7043105049) which I got through an Internet search engine does not belong to the bank... As if hypnotised, I shared my card details which the caller said were required to make the changes. He made me to share a message I received,” she said.

The fraudster then added his own contact details as beneficiary into her bank account and money was debited to her account, she said. “By the time I got through to the bank’s genuine customer care number and blocked my account, the money was withdrawn,” Rema told TOI.

Senior inspector of Kapurbawadi police station, Anil Deshmukh, said they have sought the cyber cell’s help to trace the money trail. A criminal case will be lodged on Monday.