Mumbra residents receive messages from their respective banks informing them that someone was taking money from their accounts; all the withdrawals were made around the same time and from the same ATM in Kalyan West
Several victims arrived at Mumbra police station yesterday to file a complaint. Pics/Sameer Markande
Sunday was ruined for at least 20 residents of Mumbra after they all received alarming text messages from their bank, informing them that someone was emptying their account, Rs 10,000 at a time. All 20 received the message between 5 and 6 pm and most of the withdrawals were made from an ATM in Kalyan West, suggesting that a card cloning gang is behind the theft.
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Munnavar Hafiz Sayed, 37, was out shopping around 5 pm when he received four messages in succession, each one informing him that Rs 10,000 had been withdrawn from his account. "There was Rs 41,300 in my ICICI account, and a total of Rs 40,000 was removed. I contacted the customer care number and blocked my card," he said.
"On Monday morning, when I visited the Mumbra police station at 11:30 am, I saw that I was not the only one who had been cheated. There were 20 of us there. Bank employees informed that the amount was withdrawn from the Union Bank of India ATM on Kalyan Bhiwandi road," added Sayed.
All the victims received such messages between 5 pm and 6 pm on Sunday
Another victim, Suleman Kasim Khan, 66, also lost Rs 40,000 out of the money he had set aside to clear his debts. "A week ago, I took out a loan of Rs 1.75 lakh on my wife’s gold, as I had to pay the money to somebody. I deposited the money in my account with the South Indian Bank. I got a new debit card just two days ago and used it just once to withdraw Rs 100 and check if the card was working. Then around 5.30 pm on Sunday, I got four withdrawal messages. A total of Rs 40,000 was removed," said Khan.
It was much the same with Javed Ibrahim Shaikh, who lost Rs 10,000 from his account.
Copspeak
N Kare, Assistant Police Inspector at Mumbra police station, who is investigating the matter, said, "We have been approached by 20 victims. We have taken their statements and are in the process of registering a case."
20 Number of victims who filed complaint at Mumbra police station
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