Mumbai Crime: Vasai businessman loses over a lakh in flat 4 minutes

Victims Vicky Ahire and his (below) wife Priyanka. Pics/Hanif Patel

This Vasai businessman had a traumatic weekend - in flat four minutes, his wife's bank account was emptied of Rs 1.86 lakh with simultaneous withdrawals from various ATMs in Delhi on Saturday, and all he could do was gape at the SMS alerts popping up in succession.

Vicky Ahire, 29, who stays with his wife Priyanka in Sampat Nagar, Vasai East, said someone withdrew cash from her account with an ICICI Bank branch in Vasai through a number of ATMs all the way in the national capital. He visited three to four ATMs in the area to try and change the PIN of the ATM card, but each time found it blocked.

A dark night
Speaking to mid-day, he said, "That night, I was at Waliv police station with a friend for his work. I returned home around midnight, and we were getting ready to sleep when the SMSes started popping up - eight of them back to back, with the first message stating that Rs 40,000 had been withdrawn.

"We immediately checked her purse and confirmed that the card was there. Then popped the next message of Rs 20,000 being withdrawn. I ran to the nearest ATM to change the PIN, but when I tried to, it said the card was blocked. I tried in a few other ATMs as well, but got the same reply. I called up the bank's customer care, and an executive informed me that the card was active. I then narrated what had happened and was told to approach the police."

With just Rs 529 left in the bank account, on Sunday morning, another message arrived from the bank, saying the ATM card had been activated. This was followed by a notification that stated that someone had tried to withdraw the balance amount too but failed. "Priyanka and I visited the bank on Monday morning and submitted a complaint. We also approached the Waliv police, who have registered an offence against unknown persons," he added.

Policespeak
An officer said, "We have registered the complaint under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the Information Technology Act. Investigation is on."

Also read: Mumbai: Four including three foreigners arrested for ATM card cloning in Vasai

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