Mangaluru : Due to increasing cases of people getting cheated by fraudulent withdrawal of money, the district police have taken an initiative to generate awareness about these frauds.

Superintendent of Police Sharanappa S.D. told presspersons here on Friday that despite alerts by banks, people continue to lose money by responding to SMSes sent announcing the winnings of a lottery. People have revealed details of their ATM cards to callers which led to money being fraudulently withdrawn from their accounts.

Mr. Sharanappa said that the district police have prepared posters stating the precautions that people need to take to save themselves from being cheated. Among the aspects mentioned in the poster include asking people to ignore SMSes about lottery. It also cautions people against revealing ATM card details, PIN and the OTP (One Time Password) to those who call.

These posters will be put up in all the police stations. They are also planning to hold awareness drives in colleges across the district.

Mr. Sharanappa said that the district police were trying to trace the perpetrators of fraudulent money withdrawal cases that have been registered in the district. A case was filed by a medical student from Sullia who lost Rs. 40,000 from an account in Bengaluru.

A recent complaint, Mr. Sharanappa said, had been filed on Friday by a resident of Puttur, who has lost Rs. 20 lakh. Mr. Sharanappa said the victim has received calls since November 2014 and he has deposited money to an account mentioned by the caller on regular intervals in hope of winning a lottery of Rs. 1 crore. His complaint was being investigated by the Puttur police, Mr. Sharanappa said.