Miscreants use 67-yr-old Merchant Navy captain Giridharilal Gulati’s card to buy online airline tickets worth Rs83,000.
The head of a Mumbai-based shipping company became the latest victim of online credit card fraud last month when miscreants used his account to buy thousands of rupees worth of airline tickets.
In a police complaint, Captain Ramesh Giridharilal Gulati, 67, chairman and managing director of Crystal Shipping Company Private Limited, said that “thieves” charged about Rs83,300 on his Standard Chartered card between November 8-11 when he was on an overseas trip to the Far East. The kicker is that the card was in his possession at the time of the “theft”!
Gulati, a Cuffe Parade resident, said, “I was shocked when I received my credit card statement for Rs83,296.40 on November 17. During my absence from India, someone had misused my card between November 8-10 to make 11 different transactions. The transactions were made to purchase airline tickets.” Gulati had gone on a business trip to Manila via Dubia on November 5. He returned to Mumbai on November 11.
“On November 10, I thought I had lost my card while checking out of the hotel in Manila,” he said. “I called my staff to call up Standard Chartered to report a lost card. However, during my transit period at Dubai airport on November 11, I found my card in my travel pouch. I informed the bank on November 13 that I had found the card. However, they had cancelled my card.”
Gulati received a statement for his old card on November 17. It listed 11 transactions - six on November 8, one on November 9 and four on November 10 - all for purchasing online tickets from various airlines.
The father of two then called the bank’s credit card division to report the “discrepancy”. The bank told him that they would investigate his complaint, and it would take a month’s time. On November 18, Gulati filed a complaint with the Azad Maidan police station. Prakash Khanvilkar, senior police inspector with the Azad Maidan police, said, “We have received a written complaint, but we cannot comment at this time. The case is under investigation.”
A spokesperson with Standard Chartered Bank on DN Road, also refused to comment, saying, “We cannot comment as it is under investigation.”
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