Mumbai: Senior citizen loses Rs 6.5 lakh after phone goes missing

Vijay Mhatre, 63, was at Veer Kotwal Udyan in Dadar West when he realised his phone was missing. Illustrations/Uday Mohite

A 63-year-old retiree from Sewri, Vijay Mhatre, allegedly lost Rs 6.5 lakh - his life savings - after misplacing his mobile phone during a routine grocery run at the Dadar market. When he later checked his bank account, he was left with just Rs 276, with the remaining amount siphoned off through unauthorised transactions. Mhatre, a resident of BDD Chawl, went to the daily vegetable and fruit market near Veer Kotwal Udyan in Dadar West in the morning of May 1.

He told mid-day, "I don't really remember if I dropped my phone or forgot it somewhere. But when I realised it was missing, I panicked - though I had the sense to rush to my SIM card operator's gallery for assistance. Unfortunately, their server was down, so my SIM card couldn't be blocked."

The senior citizen then rushed to his SIM card provider and asked the staff to block his number, but unfortunately, their server seemed to be down, further confusing Mhatre

After returning home, Mhatre informed his family and had to immediately leave for Alibaug to attend his maternal aunt's funeral. "I thought I'd follow up about the phone later. While in Alibaug, I needed some emergency cash and went to a local bank to withdraw money. That's when I was told my account balance was Rs 276. That account had over Rs 1.5 lakh. When I checked my other bank account - where my pension gets deposited - that too had been wiped clean. It had over R5.5 lakh," said Mhatre. The matter was initially registered at Shivaji Park police station, but was later transferred to RAK Marg police station after it was determined that the incident likely occurred within their jurisdiction. "The phone that I lost was a new one gifted by my son. I don't even have UPI or banking apps installed. I've never done online transactions - I only use ATMs or visit the bank directly. So I don't understand how money could be withdrawn from my account," Mhatre said.
"What's more shocking is how the bank allowed such huge transfers without any alert or approval from me.

Meanwhile, the police suspect that the transactions were carried out by fraudsters who may have downloaded UPI apps onto the victim's phone.

Mhatre was told by the bank staff that all he had in his accounts was Rs 276. Shocked, he bombarded the bank staff with questions but received no answers

PoliceSpeak

"They likely created a new profile in the victim's name, linked it to his bank account using the phone number. Since they set up the profile themselves, they would have had access to the password. We are also working with the bank to trace the accounts to which the money was transferred through multiple transactions," said a police officer.

R Ragasudha, deputy commissioner of police, Zone IV, said such cases are becoming increasingly common. "To prevent such incidents, citizens must block their bank accounts immediately if a phone containing a SIM card is lost. Also, avoid storing passwords on notepad apps."