E-Paper
Chandigarh: 83-year-old ex-serviceman served ₹38,000 fraud on a platter
Cyber criminals withdraw ₹38,625 from retired Lt Col’s bank account after luring him with an online advertisement for discounted food
Cyber criminals continue to devise new strategies to dupe residents. In the most recent incident, unidentified swindlers duped a retired army officer in lieu of discounted food delivery.
The victim, Lt Col Jasbir Singh (retd), 83, a resident of Sector 34, lost ₹38,625 before his bank blocked the debit card in question upon discovering the suspicious transactions.
The complainant said he stumbled upon an advertisement offering a “Buy one, get two free” offer while scrolling through Facebook. The advertisement, he added, was issued in the name of Sagar Ratna — a South Indian restaurant chain.
Jasbir said the advertisement promised two free “thalis” (platters) upon the order of one thali through a contact number provided at the bottom. Lured by the offer, Jasbir called on the contact number to place an order around 3 pm. He was told that the restaurant was only accepting online payments for the offer, following which the unsuspecting complainant provided details, including his debit card number, expiry date and CVV, to the person on call. He was assured that the food would be delivered to his house in a short while.
The complainant, however, soon received a message from his bank regarding a “suspicious transaction” on his debit card, following which it was blocked. The message had asked the 83-year-old to contact his bank’s home branch.
Upon checking with the bank’s home branch, he found out that two transactions of ₹19,312 each had already taken place.
Acting on his complaint, police registered a case under Sections 419, 420 (both cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code at the Cyber Crime police station.
