A Class 9 student from Bihar's Muzaffarpur was shocked to find out that he had suddenly become a millionaire, although for just five hours. He had gone to check his balance and withdraw some money when he discovered he had a huge amount in his bank account.
Saif Ali, from Chandan Patti in Sakra block, went to a local cyber cafe for some personal work and later decided to withdraw Rs 500 from his bank account. However, he was stunned to see that his account displayed a staggering Rs 87.65 crore balance instead of the usual modest balance. The account was opened in his name in the Sakra branch of North Bihar Gramin Bank.
The cyber cafe owner, Avinash Kumar, and the boy were shocked to see the balance and assumed that the amount being reflected might be a mistake. They even checked the account balance again to be sure but were surprised to find the amount remained unchanged. The boy immediately rushed home and shared the news with his mother.
Thereafter, Saif’s mother informed a local boy Shekhar Kumar about the unexpected event, who then went to the Customer Service Point (CSP) to check the bank statement. However, he discovered that the Rs 87.65 crore balance was no longer there and the statement reflected the correct balance of just Rs 532. Saif's account was later frozen, News 18 reported.
Saif and his family also visited the bank to report the issue and confirmed that the huge sum had suddenly disappeared from the account, and the account balance had returned to normal.
An internal investigation has been launched by the North Bihar Gramin Bank to determine how the large sum was mistakenly credited to the boy's account. Bank officials are yet to provide a clear explanation as to how the error occurred or who was behind the money trasnfer.
Cyber DSP Seema Devi stated such incidents involving misappropriation of funds through cyber fraud are not uncommon. It is being suspected that fraudsters likely exploited the student’s bank account for some time, which led to the false credit. However, Saif's family is yet to formally file a complaint with the cyber police station.
Former head of Chandanpatti Panchayat, Sohan Prasad, said that the boy had come to withdraw money when the incident took place. He also said the family of the boy is scared since they discovered the huge sum in their son's bank account.
"When the CSP operator checked the balance, around 87 crore rupees were seen in his account. We got the information, but his account was locked. Due to this, transactions could not be done from that account. The student's family is very scared. It is not known from where and from whom the money came," Jansatta reported citing Prasad.