20 ATM users lose Rs 15 lakh to cyber thieves

Police suspect that the criminals could have fixed a skimmer in the ATM and obtained the card details of the victims, so far 20 people, who withdrew money from the kiosk. 

One of the victims, Anbarasi of Gowrivakkam, said she had withdrawn money from the ATM on Saturday evening. Soon afterwards, she received messages on her mobile phone alerting about an online purchase worth Rs 13,000 and also cash withdrawals on Sunday night. Within hours, money was withdrawn five times, Rs 10,000 each time, from an ATM in Puducherry, she said. In all, Rs 63,000 vanished from her account, which she came to know only on Monday morning. 

Shocked, Anbarasi rushed to the SBI branch in Gowrivakkam and found many other affected customers arguing with the bank manager. All of them had withdrawn the money on Saturday and received messages on Sunday night regarding online purchases or withdrawals. 

Among 20 people who had rushed to the bank, Kalavathi of Rajakilpakkam lost Rs 1.60 lakh while Bhuvaneswari lost Rs 95,000. The bank manger asked them to file a complaint at the Selaiyur police station, but the police had initially refused to take the complaint. 

On Tuesday, the victims and bank officials separately filed complaints at the Selaiyur police station. Police received written complaints from Anbarasi, Kalavathi, Bhuvaneswari and two others, and issued community service register receipts. Officers promised to form a separate team to investigate the case. 

ATM skimmers are tiny gadgets that can be fixed in the place where customers swipe their cards. The gadget will capture data from the cards, which can be used by criminals to withdraw cash or make online payments.