HYDERABAD: The 44 per cent increment for TSRTC employees was cheered by many. But eight conductors and drivers could not lay hands on their first installment (in the form of arrears) of the much-awaited hike, as some fraudsters usurped the hard-earned money, to the tune of Rs one lakh, deposited in their accounts with the State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH).
The fraudsters took advantage of the drivers and conductors’ hectic schedule. Posing as an employee of the bank, an unknown accused called the employees when they were on duty.
Using different tricks with the employees, he managed to get their ATM card numbers, pin, and withdrew money in a jiffy. All of the employees from the Jeedimetla RTC Bus Depot got a call from the same phone number.
One of the victims, Raj Kumar, a driver, said he had received a call from someone claiming to be a bank employee. As he was driving, he asked the caller to contact him later. But the caller persisted, and contacted him more than 15 times. “When I finally took the call, he gave my full name. He said my card was blocked two minutes back, and asked for my Aadhaar card details to unlock it. I said how can he expect me to carry it along. Later, he read out my ATM number and asked me to confirm it,” said Raj Kumar. The caller told him that he would receive a one-time password in a few minutes, and asked it be read out to him.
“Soon after giving the one-time password I realized my mistake. I was expecting my money will vanish. I was driving and could not check messages I received later. Later, I got a message that Rs 47000 was withdrawn from my account. I was shattered,” the RTC driver said. Similarly, seven more employees were hoodwinked. As of now, only four employees have lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crimes Police of Cyberabad.
“Two to three people might be involved in the fraud. We are educating people not to give their account details and passwords to unknown people,” said S Jayaram, assistant commissioner of police, Cyber Crime Police Station, Cyberabad.