A 26-year-old factory worker from Asarwa in Ahmedabad was allegedly duped of Rs 1.1 lakh after he deposited cash through an unauthorized customer service point set up outside a bank. The incident came to light after the victim filed a police complaint on April 28.
How the Fraud Occurred
According to the complaint, the victim, who works at a readymade garments unit in Abhishek Estate-1, Asarwa, went to deposit Rs 20,000 in his bank account on March 31. Since the bank branch was closed that day, he approached a person sitting outside the premises under a signboard that read "customer service."
The individual collected the victim's Aadhaar details and passbook and took his fingerprint to process the deposit. Although the amount was initially credited to his account, the victim soon received alerts of unauthorized transactions within minutes.
Details of the Fraudulent Transactions
Police said that between 2.45pm and 2.50pm, Rs 54,000 was debited from one bank account and Rs 65,000 from another linked account, bringing the total fraud amount to Rs 1.19 lakh. The transactions were carried out through an online payment handle.
Realizing he had been cheated, the victim contacted the cybercrime helpline and registered an online complaint. Investigators suspect that the accused misused biometric authentication during the deposit process to gain access to the victim's banking credentials and siphon off funds.
Police Investigation and Advisory
A case has been registered, and efforts are underway to identify the person who posed as a customer service agent. Police have advised citizens to avoid sharing Aadhaar details or biometric data with unauthorized persons and to rely only on official banking channels for transactions.
Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the cybercrime helpline immediately.
