Doctor loses lakhs after phone theft leads to bank fraud in kolkata

Time of India

03-05-2025

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Kolkata: A 31-year-old doctor, posted at SSKM Hospital and residing in Jadavpur, fell victim to an elaborate cyber fraud after his phone was allegedly stolen from his SSKM hostel room. The victim, Souradeep Das, ended up losing close to Rs 2.7 lakh in the process.
Cops stated that the nature of the crime has left them confused, given it does not suit any traditional cyber crime format. The victim has now approached top Lalbazar officers and even the CMO, which has also enquired about the incident.
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The cops claimed that once the mobile was stolen, there was no traditional SIM swapping or any online fraud as is being claimed by the victim or his friends. "It was a simple case of misuse. There were even physical withdrawals involved, and it seems that there was an ATM card involved. This does not fit a traditional cyber fraud," said an investigator, stating they are looking into each withdrawal and verifying them physically with CCTV footage from ATMs and documents provided by three banks.
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TOI spoke to the cyber fraud victim, Sourodeep Das, a third-year cardiology student at SSKM Hospital, on Saturday. Having lost over Rs 2.6 lakh from his four different bank accounts, the 31-year-old is now banking on help from his parents and colleagues until his monthly stipend is credited to his account. His father is a retired govt employee, while his mother is an associate professor of political science at Jogomaya Devi College.
"I went to Durgapur to attend a friend's wedding. After coming back to my hostel, I discovered on April 23 that my cellphone containing two separate SIMs was missing. I lodged a complaint with Bhowanipore police station on the same day. My four bank accounts – three of them in two nationalised banks and one private bank – were linked with one of the SIMs. I got both the SIMs blocked on the same day," said Das, a Jadavpur resident who stays in the medical college's hostel.
"The next day, my father received a call from my number, and the caller asked him to come to Durgapur and collect the phone. I contacted the telecom service provider and asked how my blocked SIM turned operational. Since my Aadhaar number and address were saved in the stolen phone, the accused managed to get it unblocked by the service operator with the help of my personal information," he recounted.
On April 24, Das got a duplicate SIM against the same number and got it activated by the evening. "I was on duty in the OT that day when the new SIM was activated. After coming out of the OT, I checked my phone and read a message alert that Rs 6,000 was deducted in the name of the Jharkhand State Beverage Corporation from one of my accounts. Being doubtful, I checked my other accounts and discovered that a major portion of my savings was siphoned off," he recounted.
Das stated that he lodged a complaint with the cybercrime cell immediately after sensing fraud. "I visited the divisional cyber cell and shared all transaction details with the cops," he said.