Retired man loses Rs 37,800 in ATM card-swap fraud in Rajura

A case of ATM card-swap fraud has come to light in Rajura town. Under the pretext of helping, an unidentified man switched the card of a 63-year-old retired employee with sleight of hand. Rs 37,800 was then withdrawn from the man's account. A case has been registered against the unknown accused at Rajura police station, and the police are investigating further.

The incident took place around 11 am on October 5, 2026, at a Bank of Maharashtra ATM centre on Asifabad Road. Shrihari Narayan Thamke, 63, a resident of Ambadas Ward in Rajura, had gone there to withdraw money.

Thamke tried to withdraw cash from the machine, but it did not dispense any because of a technical problem. Two people were already inside the ATM centre at the time. An unknown man who arrived then said, "The ATM sometimes has a technical problem, try inserting your card again." He asked Thamke to enter his PIN once more.

The cash did not come out this time either, and Thamke went home with his ATM card.

Soon after he reached home, messages began arriving on his mobile phone from the bank about money being debited. Rs 10,000 had been withdrawn from the account three times and Rs 7,800 once, a total of Rs 37,800 in four transactions.

Shocked by the messages, Thamke went to the bank at once. Bank staff looked at the card in his hand and told him it belonged to someone else.

This made it clear that the man who had pretended to help had swapped Thamke's genuine card with sleight of hand and handed him another card. The money was withdrawn using the PIN. As soon as he learnt of the fraud, Thamke went to Rajura police station and filed a complaint.

Based on the complaint, Rajura police registered a case against the unknown accused under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Police constable Vicky Rajkumar Nirvan is investigating.

The incident has once again raised questions about the security of ATM centres. People are being urged to be wary of strangers.