ATM ‘compromised’, 2 victims lose 1.3 lakh in south Kolkata
Times of India | 16 February 2025
12 Kolkata: A man identified as Balai Sardar, who went to withdraw money from a public sector bank ATM opposite Kishore Bharati Stadium, was surprised when his card got stuck. He called a helpline number scribbled on the SBI ATM machine. However, no help came, and he abandoned the idea of withdrawing Rs 25,000 as per his plans.
Within the next few hours, he ended up losing Rs 1 lakh. According to police, Sardar, upon returning home, found multiple messages on his phone indicating withdrawals from his account. Over Rs 70,000 disappeared in several transactions besides the Rs 25,000 transaction he wanted to make.
The incident was reported on Friday night, with Sardar lodging a complaint with the Survey Park police station. Police arrived at the scene and discovered that Sardar was not the only victim; at least one more person lost money in a similar manner. The police have launched an investigation into the entire incident, and cyber experts are examining the matter.
"Two separate FIRs have been launched. In one case, the victim lost Rs 1 lakh. In the other, the victim lost Rs 25,000. The bank fraud section of the detective department has taken over the probe. After an analysis of the CCTV footage, it appears that a man entered the ATM and stayed inside for a long time. However, his face is not visible as care has been taken to conceal identity," said an investigating officer from the East Division.
"After inserting the card into the ATM machine, the customer usually enters the PIN as instructed. However, in at least one of the two cases, not only did the machine fail to dispense cash, but the card also got stuck. Despite numerous attempts, retrieving the card from the machine proved impossible. Finding no way out, the customer called the helpline, but it yielded no results. It was only later that the customer realised that he fell into a trap set by fraudsters," said a police officer. "We are not clear about the modus operandi yet," said an officer.
This ATM fraud has raised security concerns, with customers claiming the bank needs to take notice of such irregularities and return the money to the victim. An SBI official, on condition of anonymity, said they were aware of the incident and were conducting an internal investigation.
The police suspect that the fraudsters had installed a skimmer box on the ATM, which held back the card and the card information was transferred to the fraudsters' server. A small camera placed near the buttons also allows them to capture the PIN number. "We need SBI to help us with technical details," said an officer at Lalbazar.
Additionally, cops believe that the toll-free phone number displayed on the ATM was also controlled by the fraudsters. When customers called, they were misled. "It is suspected that they target ATMs without security guards. About seven or eight years ago, similar skimmer box frauds resulted in the theft of lakhs. In that case, Kolkata Police apprehended a foreign gang. We have now launched an investigation to determine if this skimmer box fraud has resurfaced," an officer said.
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