SBI rescues sr citizen from `46L cyber fraud

Hyderabad: The bank officials of Chandrayan Gutta branch of State Bank of India (SBI) recently saved a senior citizen from losing Rs 46 lakh to a digital arrest scam.

According to an official SBI release, on November 22 a retired PSU employee visited the branch with his spouse to present a cheque for transfer of Rs 46 lakh, by way of RTGS. Senior Associate, B Praveen, who was at the counter sensed something amiss as the customer was tense and restless. He immediately escorted the couple to Branch Head, Dr Shiva Kumar, AGM. The Branch Head inquired about the transaction to find out that it was a case of digital arrest.

The customer told the bank officials that the video callers posed as CBI officers to inform about a network of individuals including a man named Sunil Goel have orchestrated a staggering scam of Rs 100 crore.

The police have arrested Sunil Goel and are now on the lookout to arrest him as the account opened had his KYC and Aadhar credentials.

For the last three days, the customer and his wife were held hostage under video call by the cyber criminals. The couple was forbidden from contacting anyone or disclosing the matter.

The scammers claimed that their men were waiting outside. They said that they will arrest him and his son if they did not transfer Rs 46 lakh from their fixed deposit account immediately to their account.

In desperation, the customer and his wife decided to visit the SBI Chandrayangutta branch to transfer the funds. They submitted their RTGS fund transfer request for transfer of amount to the account of M/s Mizani Electratech held with ICICI Bank, Pundliknagar, Aurangabad.

The Branch Manager, Dr Shiva Kumar sensed the gravity of the situation and contacted the children of the customer to inform them about the incident and immediately lodge a complaint with the Cyber crime helpline 1930, the release further added.