Mumbai:
Customers of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) in Kharghar need to be more alert, officials say. One of the MTNL customers in the node reportedly was at the receiving end when his wife got a fake call enquiring details of the family and was later allegedly robbed by a pesky caller recently.
Confirming the same, a senior MTNL official said that the victim's husband had approached her requesting to cut his landline service. "The customer was in a shock and requested us to disconnect services to him temporarily after his wife received a call asking for information about the household. The caller later reached to the customer's residence and faked his wife that he had met an accident and demanded Rs 15,000 cash for medication," the officer said.
On the woman's refusal to pay the amount, the caller later allegedly robbed her of mobile phone and some cash, the official added. She said, "This is not the first time that our customer has received such a call. But this is the maiden case in which a customer has suffered a blow. His wife is said to be in a shock and there is no case registered in this regard."
There are close to 30 calls that some of the state-run firm's customers received over the period of past three months. "The fake caller would identify himself as a MTNL or police officer and tell a name. When cross checked, it turned out that there actually exist employees with the names working for the two departments. These calls were traced to public booths in Airoli, Koparkhairane and Vashi," the official added.
Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai Police has appealed to the MTNL customers to be aware and not get deterred after receiving such calls.
"Apart from Kharghar, we have received such complaints from MTNL customers in Nerul and Kamothe. In the first place, a police official will not make such calls to residents. Even if a call will be made, the policeman will give details like his name, badge number in case he is a hawaldar, designation and the station he is calling from," a senior police official said requesting not to be named.
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