Scammers have recently adopted a new tactic to defraud ATM users across Guwahati with the help of forged helpline numbers. Fraudsters are now replacing the printed helpline numbers inside ATMs with fake handwritten numbers, luring customers into calling them for assistance.

Over the course of two days, two incidents of such scams by fraudsters have been reported in the city, highlighting the rising threat to ATM users and leading to a significant financial loss to customers.

The first incident occurred on Tuesday morning at a State Bank of India (SBI) ATM in Lachit Nagar area. Initially, the victim identified as Nabendu Bhattacharjee’s ATM card was stuck by the machine, following which the person dialed a helpline number that had been manually written inside the ATM, believing they he was contacting technical support.

During the call, the scammers pretended to assist the customer, instructing him to seek help from a technician at a nearby location. As per the directions, Bhattacharjee moved out of the ATM in search of the technician. However, once the he returned, he discovered the ATM card was missing and there was no technician to be found.

The entire incident came to light after he contacted the bank. According to Nabendu Bhattacharjee, the scammers stole a staggering Rs 93,000 from his account.

In a separate incident on Monday at an IndusInd Bank ATM in Guwahati’s Lokhra, another individual was similarly deceived, resulting in a loss of Rs 2 lakh.