When Satish Pratap Singh, a supervisor at the reservation counter at the Bangalore City Railway Station, went to withdraw cash from the SBI ATM kiosk on the station premises a few days ago, he did not find anything amiss. But, seconds after leaving the ATM kiosk with Rs. 1,000 in cash that he had withdrawn, Mr. Singh received an SMS alert for not only the Rs. 1,000 he had drawn, but also another Rs. 20,000.
Shocked by this, Mr. Singh checked the debit card, presuming that he had lost it and someone may have misused it. But, to his surprise the card was intact with him. He immediately called the bank and lodged a complaint.
The bank’s customer care went through his complaint and replied to him that Rs. 20,000 had indeed been withdrawn from the same ATM counter after he had drawn Rs, 1,000. The bank authorities advised him to file a police complaint and offered to provide him with the CCTV footage of the ATM kiosk to identify the person who had withdrawn the amount.
In his complaint to the railway police, Mr. Singh said that he went to withdraw Rs. 1,000 from his salary account to book a ticket for his relative.
When he entered the kiosk, Mr. Singh recalled that a man present there told him that he was unable to withdraw money and asked him (Mr. Singh) to try his luck.
Mr. Singh withdrew cash and left the kiosk even as the man was still inside the kiosk.
The police had also not readily accepted Mr. Singh’s complaint. They had initially sent him back stating that he was lying. “The police initially told me that I myself had withdrawn the money and was trying to fool them. I challenged them to verify with the CCTV footage and arrest me if I am guilty,” Mr. Singh told The Hindu.
The police finally agreed to take his complaint after Mr. Singh asked one of his relatives, who works in the Central Bureau of Investigation, for recommendation. But despite registering a complaint, the police have not initiated any enquiry.
The police, however, said that they were awaiting the bank to provide them the CCTV footage.
Keywords: Bank ATM fraud, SBI ATM, Bangalore crimes
The more we make use of technology we are taking risk. Technology is a double
edged sword. It makes our life easier but it also adds an extra layer of risk. these
days skimming ATM details have become a fine art by itself. So whenever we use an
ATM we are taking a calculated risk. It is always better not to have too much money
in the account from which money is drawn through an ATM. But then all of us
become wiser only after we lose money. Same is the case with net banking. The less
we use net banking the better. There is no safer substitute to brick and mortar
banking.
If the police begin suspecting people of lodging false complaints, what is the earthly use of this incompetent force who get paid by the tax-payers' money?
I had an experience when I received a slip that my request for withdrawal couldnt be processed at an SBI ATM. I promptly went to the nearby Citibank and managed to withdraw money on the same card. When I took a printout of my mini statement, there was a double debit for the same amount. I took this statement and complained to my Bank and they checked it out and reversed the wrong entry! This is just a warning that such errors can also happen.
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