Fake helpers, real thieves: Three frauds in 12 hours bleed city's elderly

Fraudsters are targeting citizens by offering help or using charity as a pretext. In incidents reported within 12 hours, an ASHA worker lost Rs 1.43 lakh in an ATM card swap, while a 70-year-old woman was robbed in Junabazar.

Vanmala Gosavi (56) visited a union Bank ATM in Sahakarnagar on April 21 at 5 pm with her daughter. Three men entered, offered help and hurried her. One allegedly swapped her ATM card. On April 23, she discovered the card was not hers. Her son later found that Rs 1.43 lakh had been withdrawn over three days using her original card. A case was registered at Jawaharnagar police station on April 24. The same day at 4 pm, Vijay Chavan (59) was cheated of Rs 43,000 at an ATM near Gajanan Maharaj temple after two men took his card and PIN on the pretext of helping him. On April 22 at 11.30 am, Mhalsa Pagare (70) was told in Junabazar that clothes were being distributed near a municipal school. The men asked her to keep her silver bangles (about 10 tolas) and Rs 300 in a bag to appear poor and handed it to them. When she went to check, no donation drive was underway and the men had fled.