I, a resident of Karachi, have spent seven decades of my life in this country, six of which were utilised in working and providing for my family. I am proud to say that I have been and upstanding member of society, always abiding by the law and respecting the rights of everyone I meet.
Now in my senior years, retired, and finally having some time to focus on my failing health, I took solace in the fact that I had amassed enough life savings, to take care of myself.
I am a heart patient. I have had multiple procedures for my heart, and now my lungs and kidneys too have become very weak. I have monthly appointments with various doctors in different prestigious hospitals of the city. All this was being paid out of my personal bank account with my lifesavings.
Daily I take various lifesaving medications, which help me function. After my most recent visit to a cardiovascular hospital, due to my weak heart and treatment for hypertensive anxiety and low pulse rate, I was given heavy doses of medication to bring my stats to normal.
In this state, on 18th September, 2024 in the morning, I received a phone call from someone impersonating to be a ‘senior bank official Shoaib’ from the bank’s Terror Financing Enquiry Department along with an ‘ISI agent’. They gave me all my details, such as my bank account number in a local private bank, my mother’s name and even the exact amount present in my account with some more confidential details, only available to the bank.
He accused me of harbouring terrorists in the country and said my account has been frozen for further inquiry. They even gave me the details of my wife’s and daughter’s accounts in the same bank.
They then threatened to have my entire family’s bank accounts frozen unless I visited a particular Bank branch and I did as threatened. Being nervous, with hypertension and already being under the influence of my medicines and extreme anxiety, I for some time lost my bearings.
As they told me to go to a ‘bank branch in Gulshan’, which is not the branch in which I opened my account. Both these men, posing as a ‘bank’s officer’ and the other as an ‘ISI agent’ had been on my phone all the time.
When I reached the branch, they asked me to give my phone to any of the personnel working there. I hailed a “Mr Ali Arshad” and handed him my phone and told him that I have come for verification of my account.
He took my phone and a cheque leaf carrying no name, but amounting to my entire savings, and went out of sight. He later returned with a deposit slip made out to ‘Kamran s/o Abdul Shakoor’, and asked me to sign. Upon seeing the name, I was extremely hesitant to sign, but they told me this was the account of DIG investigating the terror charges.
My condition was getting worse and in this critical mental state I regrettably signed. And now I have been robbed of everything I worked my entire life for.
My account was emptied within minutes and the culprits are at large. I am not sure who from the bank was involved, as having such detailed information cannot be obtained with ease. Also no one came to help or make any inquiries the whole time I was in the bank.
Everyone saw a frail, old man sitting visibly shaken, yet nobody offered help. Even on all deposit slips it is mentioned that what is the purpose of transaction, but nobody asked me that and just filled in the deposit slips on the instructions of the fraudsters. Now instead of helping a senior citizen the bank’s investigation team is putting all blame on me to avoid compensation.
Bank personnel ask multiple questions when we go to retrieve any amount from our accounts, yet no eyebrows were raised when such a huge amount was passing through. I am speechless to say the least. I am hoping to reach out to as many people as I can and make sure no one else falls victim to such a scam.
Sayed F. H. Abid Rizvi (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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