‘Help’ at ATMs, bank leads to 2 women, sr citizen losing 1.5L
Times of India | 12 January 2026
Kolkata: Two women and a 79-year-old man lost their money—Rs 1.5 lakh in total—after they were "offered help" by fraudsters. While the women were conned at two ATM kiosks by swapping cards, the elderly man was robbed of his money after he withdrew it at a bank. The incidents took place in Burtolla, Tangra and Ekbalpore, all on Thursday.
In the first complaint, lodged at Burtolla PS, Gorapada Sarkar Lane resident Mitali Ghosh (42) said Rs 35,740 was withdrawn from her account between 2 pm and 3 pm. She said she had gone to an ATM at Gouribari, where a youth offered to help her though she sought none. The youth then engaged her in a conversation, telling her to complete the transaction fast. "The exchange of ATM cards might have happened there," the victim reportedly told cops.
The second complaint was lodged at the Tangra PS following a complaint by Sulekha Dey (34), a New Tangra Road resident.
She alleged that an unknown person stole Rs 95,000 by swapping her ATM card with another one while she was withdrawing money from an ATM kiosk opposite Seal Lane Maath in Tangra. Police said the alleged theft occurred between 6.30 pm and 7 pm. Here, too, she was distracted by a youth while she was withdrawing money. Investigators are examining CCTV coverage from the area and checking transaction trails linked to the withdrawals, police said.
In the third case, Ekbalpore PS received a complaint from a 79-year-old resident of Mayurbhanj Road, Sk Ulfat. He claimed he had just withdrawn Rs 30,000 from a bank branch, when a stranger approached him near Diamond Harbour Road between 11.30 am and 12.30 pm. The man reportedly offered to help Ulfat place his water bottle properly into his bag. Police said the accused must have used that moment to pick the cash from the bag before walking away.
Police sources said the three complaints matched a pattern seen in earlier cases across Kolkata and its suburbs, including Survey Park and Mukundapur, since last year. Investigators suspect the crimes were carried out by organised groups that target unguarded ATM kiosks, particularly those with older machines where cards did not get locked in the slots. In several cases, fraudsters are suspected to have tampered with card slots and then, posed as helpful bystanders to win victims' trust and obtain PINs, enabling illegal withdrawals.