Ahmedabad: A 59-year-old retired BSNL officer was allegedly duped of Rs 2.38 lakh by fraudsters posing as bank officials. Satellite police register an offence in this connection on Thursday.According to the complaint, the Ambawadi resident applied online for a credit card from HSBC Bank in Nov 2025. On Dec 1, he received a call from an unidentified number, with the caller claiming to be an HSBC representative and citing a “technical error” in his application. The caller asked him to share his PAN card and pension slip by email to process the application.Believing the request to be genuine, the retired officer emailed scanned copies of the documents to an address that appeared official. Over the next few days, he received follow-up calls and messages from different mobile numbers, reiterating the demand for documents and seeking additional financial details.On Dec 5, he received another call from a person claiming to be a bank official who directed him to check an email sent from an address resembling customer support. The email contained a link titled “request to continue application”. When he clicked it, a video call was initiated. During the call, the fraudster asked him to display any existing credit cards for “eligibility verification”. The complainant showed his AU Bank credit card on camera.Within minutes, he received OTP messages and alerts of two transactions amounting to Rs 1,10,217 and Rs 1,27,980 from his credit card, totalling Rs 2,38,197. Realizing he was cheated, he disconnected the call and immediately informed the bank’s customer care. He also lodged a complaint on the national cybercrime helpline 1930.As the amount was not reversed even after 30 days, he approached the police. Satellite police registered a complaint of cheating and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with charges under the Information Technology Act.
