Cyber Fraudsters Siphon ₹19,570 from Vastrapur Sales Manager's SBI Account Without OTP or PIN Access

An Instagram scrolling session turned into a nightmare for a 39-year-old sales manager in Vastrapur, who lost ₹19,570 from his joint bank account without sharing any One Time Password (OTP) or personal identification number (PIN).

The victim, Jatin Kishorebhai Surani, was at home with his family on May 20 when his mobile phone abruptly switched off around 6 pm. Upon rebooting the device, Surani spotted a Google Pay alert confirming that funds had been siphoned off from the State Bank of India (SBI) savings account he shares with his wife, Jalpaben.

Upon reviewing his transaction history, Surani discovered the entire sum had been routed to an unknown Google Pay ID. He immediately alerted his family, placed a call to the national cybercrime helpline 1930, and subsequently lodged a formal complaint with the Vastrapur police station on August 27.

Police Probe Unauthorised Transfer and Device Hack Angle

Vastrapur police officials confirmed that the transaction took place without the account holder's authorisation. Officers are currently scrutinising the beneficiary account linked to the Google Pay ID alongside the transaction logs.

Investigators plan to requisition detailed records from SBI and Google Pay to trace the individual behind the beneficiary ID. A key focal point of the probe remains the technical anomaly of the victim's mobile handset shutting down right before the fund transfer took place, pointing towards potential malware or device-compromise tactics. The investigation remains ongoing.