Mohali: Reward points bait costs two Mohali credit card users ₹6 lakh

Cyber fraudsters get access to the mobile phones of the victims by posing as officials from financial institutions while offering them help to get their credit card reward points redeemed

Two credit card users in Mohali district lost a combined ₹6 lakh to cyber fraudsters who allegedly posed as bank representatives and offered to help them redeem reward points. In the first case, a Phase-10 resident who works as a library professional at the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, Chandigarh, alleged that she received a call on October 10 from a woman identifying herself as Deepali from ICICI Bank’s credit card department.

FIRs have been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

The caller offered to help her redeem accumulated reward points. When network issues interrupted their conversation, she shifted the call to WhatsApp and asked the complainant to enable screen sharing. The complainant soon received multiple one-time passwords (OTPs) on her phone. She blocked her card after suspecting fraud, but the accused had already withdrawn nearly ₹2 lakh through unauthorised transactions.

In the second case, a 50-year-old resident of Zirakpur, alleged that a caller contacted him on September 26 and told him that ₹5,000 worth of reward points on his credit card would expire that day.

The caller instructed him to open Google Chrome and search for “MY Card”. After he followed the instructions, the fraudster allegedly gained access to his device and carried out two transactions of ₹2 lakh each, taking ₹4 lakh from his credit card.

He blocked his card after discovering the transactions. The cases have been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.