On Wednesday morning around 11 AM, an individual went to an ATM in Tribune Colony, near Baltana, to withdraw money. Unfortunately, his HDFC Bank debit card got stuck in the IndusInd ATM. Subsequently, a cunning person, taking advantage of the situation, convinced the victim to enter his PIN three times, but the card did not come out. The victim went home to get his mobile, and within a short period, a total of INR 1.12 lakhs was withdrawn from his account.
It is reported that five people experienced a similar incident in a single day using the same method. Upon hearing people’s complaints, the police arrived, closed the ATM shutter, and prevented others from falling victim to the fraud.
There was no security guard at the ATM, allowing the fraudster to install a scanner and carry out technical manipulations to deceive people. The victim, Kuldeep Singh, explained that he went to the Tribune Colony ATM near Baltana around 11 AM to withdraw money. As soon as he inserted his debit card into the ATM, the machine malfunctioned, and shortly after, a young man arrived, claiming he could retrieve the card. Following the fraudster’s instructions, Kuldeep called the helpline number attached to the ATM. However, since his mobile was at home, the fraudster suggested entering the PIN three times, hoping the card would be released. When this did not work, Kuldeep went home to fetch his mobile. As soon as he returned, he received a message notifying him that INR 90,000 had been withdrawn from his account.
After reaching the ATM, Kuldeep found no one there. Around 12:30 PM, more money was withdrawn from another ATM, totaling INR 1.12 lakhs from his account.
Following this, another person named Munish reported that INR 3,000 was also withdrawn from his account using the same method. With multiple victims reporting similar incidents, the information was conveyed to the Baltana police station. The police promptly closed the ATM shutter and informed the bank. The maintenance company, Hitachi, arrived to investigate and shut down the ATM.
“We have sent two security guards to close the ATM shutter and informed the company to prevent further fraud. The company’s mistake was not placing any security guard outside the ATM. This case will be investigated by the cyber cell. We appeal to all banks to keep security guards outside ATMs. If they fail to do so, they will be instructed to keep ATMs closed during the night.” – Ajay Kumar, Station In-charge, Baltana.
