GUWAHATI: There has been rise in cases of people's money being taken away from their bank accounts in Guwahati. Cyber criminals are on the prowl in the city and this new method of extracting money is affecting a lot of customers who have lost their hard-earned wealth.
The Panbazar Police Station has reportedly seen 21 cases being registered since July 2018, which are related to customers’ money being siphoned off from accounts through one way or other.
The modus operandi has been common in most of the cases. Either the money has been taken away through online hacking, a phone call or through trying to help the victim inside an ATM booth.
According to the police most of the crime is planned on those places which have multiple ATMs in one booth. The thieves try to get friendly and help those who are not very accustomed with the ATMs’ money dispensing process. It is here, where they get to know the victim's ATM card pin number.
Some thieves introduce themselves as bank officials and get the 16 digit card number. The 16 digit number helps the thieves to get hold of the victim's identity and then they somehow fool the victim and get the pin number. The high-level thieves don't get in touch with the victims directly and take away the money by hacking the account.
In order to avoid such situations, the customers need to be educated by the banks about keeping their private information safe, said the police.