Receiving any unknown person’s assistance for withdrawing cash from an ATM counter may prove disastrous on occasions as the stranger many know your PIN number, swap the ATM card with a fake one and then utilise the card for withdrawing money from your bank account.
Such an incident has come to the fore at Rahama under Tirtol block on Wednesday. Bimbadhar Das from Pankapala village was withdrawing money from his SBI ATM counter when his transaction stopped due to a technical snag.
He soon sought help of an unknown youth, who was standing behind him in the counter. He handed over the card to the youth and told him his PIN number. Despite the youth’s attempt, he too failed to withdraw money. He then handed over the card to Bimbadhar and left the place.
Strangely, after an hour, Bimbadhar received a message in his mobile that an amount of Rs 20,000 had been withdrawn from his account. When he verified his ATM card, he was astonished to see that the card was not original.
Bimbadhar approached the SBI Branch and lodged a complaint at the Tirtol police station informing about the fraud. The bank authorities and the police have started investigation. The youth was yet to be identified, said police.