SBI averts digital arrest scam, saves customer’s Rs. 30 lakh

Hyderabad: A customer of SBI Lothukunta branch, aged about 78 years, who is a doctor by profession along with his wife (also a doctor) and runs a nursing home at Lothukunta, received a call from one Ranjith on Wednesday, who introduced himself as a Delhi Customs Officer and stated that a parcel containing 16 passports and ATM cards in the name of the customer has come from Malaysia.

The caller enquired the customer about the sender of the parcel. The customer said that he doesn’t know anything. Hearing this, Ranjit told the customer that the call will be transferred to Sunil Kumar, ACP, Delhi Crime Police. Then the above said ACP enquired about the bank account and Aadhaar card details. The customer out of fear compromised on the details. Then, Sunil Kumar informed that 30 bank accounts were opened based on customer Aadhar card credentials and an amount of Rs 88 crore was involved in money laundering from these accounts. Sunil Kumar said that further investigation needs to be carried out and the customer needs to get a Police Clearance Certificate by paying a certain amount. They asked the customer about the balances in his account.

Customer replied that he has Rs 30 lakh in his Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS) account. Sunil Kumar asked him to close his SCSS account and transfer the funds to the SB account. In the afternoon, the customer visited SBI Lothukunta Branch and met Naveen Kumar, branch manager and requested for closure of his SCSS account and transfer of funds to his SB account. Branch Manager enquired about the reasons for closure of SCSS deposit, where usually a senior citizen keeps his life savings. During this short period of 1-2 minutes, the customer got three calls from the fraudsters for speeding up the process. The branch manager noticed that the customer was apparently disturbed and he again enquired the reasons for closure of SCSS deposit. Immediately, the branch manager contacted the local police authorities.

The customer expressed gratitude to the branch manager and thanked him for saving his hard earned money and relieving him from the mental agony.