Gangtok woman duped in ATM fraud

SNS, Gangtok, 2 May: Days after a woman from West Sikkim was robbed of Rs 1.95 lakh by her fake Facebook friend, another woman has been duped, and this time, crooks took away her hard-earned money through phone calls and Internet banking. 

Rakhi Chhetri (name changed) of Gangtok received a phone call on her cellphone yesterday from an unknown number. The caller identified himself to be an ATM service manager related with a bank. He asked the woman to provide him with her debit card number and other bank details. The unsuspecting woman gave the caller all the details. However, later in the evening, she received a text message on her phone that said Rs 2500 had been withdrawn from her bank account. 

A criminal case has been registered at the Sadar Police Station, and police said they are investigating the incident. Meanwhile, Sikkim Police has requested people not to provide personal particulars/financial details to unknown persons via phones or email. 

“No banks or financial institutions ask for any personal details/passwords through phone calls or emails. Such callers are usually miscreants who are looking to cheat unsuspecting persons,” the police said.