Pune: In a cunning display of deception, a thief managed to swindle ₹50,000 from a man under the guise of assisting with an ATM transaction.

The incident took place on September 2, 2024, at the State Bank of India (SBI) ATM located on Tilak Road, Pune. The Swargate Police has registered a complaint and launched an investigation into the matter.

The complainant, who resides in Bhavani Peth, was on Tilak Road for work-related purposes when the incident occurred. According to police reports, while the complainant was attempting to withdraw cash from the ATM, an unknown individual approached him and offered to help.

The thief manipulated the situation by pretending to guide the complainant through the transaction, and in a deft move, swapped the complainant's ATM card with another card. During the interaction, the thief cleverly noted down the complainant’s PIN.

Feigning technical difficulties, the thief informed the complainant that the cash withdrawal was unsuccessful and returned a different ATM card to him, which the complainant did not immediately recognize as not his own.

Unbeknownst to the complainant, the thief then used the stolen card to make several unauthorized withdrawals from the complainant's bank account, amounting to a total loss of ₹50,000.

The fraud came to light when the complainant began receiving SMS alerts about the reduction in his savings account balance. Realizing that he had been defrauded, the complainant promptly approached the Swargate Police Station and lodged a formal complaint.

Swargate Police have launched an investigation into the case, reviewing CCTV footage from the ATM and surrounding areas to identify and apprehend the suspect.