Ludhiana: Elderly businessman loses ₹7.7L to cyber swindlers
According to the victim, the accused posing as bank employees called him repeatedly and asked for his debit card details; the victim claimed that he did not share any information but still found that the money was transferred from his bank account
Cyber fraudsters allegedly duped a 60-year-old businessman of ₹7.76 lakh after they tricked him to believe that his bank account was being hacked, police said, adding that a case has been registered.
According to the victim, the accused posing as bank employees called him repeatedly and asked for his debit card details. The victim claimed that he did not share any information but still found that the money was transferred from his bank account.
Following a complaint by Inderpal Singh, a resident of Guru Nanak Nagar, Dhuri Line, the case against unidentified accused was registered at the cyber crime police station.
According to the complainant, he got a call from an unknown number on February 20. The caller claimed to be a bank employee, warned him that his account was at risk of being hacked and asked for his debit card details to ‘secure’ it, the victim said in his complaint, adding that he disconnected the call without providing any details.
He said he for a similar call from another number the next day and he suspected something was amiss. The victim said he suspected it to be a scam and immediately switched off his phone.
He said he turned his phone back on a few hours later, only to get a message informing him that the money had been debited from his account. He said he then approached the police.
Cyber crime station-house officer (SHO) inspector Satvir Singh said it is unlikely that such a transaction could have been made without some form of access. “It is possible that the elderly victim unknowingly clicked on a malicious link, granting the fraudsters access to his account or mobile,” the inspector said.
During investigation, police found that the transferred money was withdrawn the same day. Authorities are tracking the bank accounts where the funds were deposited to identify and apprehend the fraudsters. The case was registered under sections 319 (2) (cheating by personation) and 318 (4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
