Now, PEC professor’s husband falls prey to fake power bill scam

Alarming him with the fake alert that his power connection will be disconnected if the dues were not cleared soon, the scammers withdrew ₹3.65 lakh from the bank account of the PEC professor’s husband

The husband of a professor at Punjab Engineering College (PEC) became the latest victim of online fraudsters unnerving people by circulating fake messages regarding unpaid electricity bills.

The PEC professor’s husband received the fraudulent text message on his mobile phone on October 10. (AFP File Photo)

Alarming him with the fake alert that his power connection will be disconnected if the dues were not cleared soon, the scammers withdrew ₹3.65 lakh from Om Parkash Batra’s bank account.

Batra said he received the text message on his mobile phone on October 10. Worried about disconnection of his power connection, he contacted the given phone number, where he was told his payment details need to be updated.

The accused made him download Quick Support app to make a payment of ₹10 for verification, following which ₹3.65 lakh were withdrawn from his bank account in multiple transactions.

‘Nephew in Canada arrested’: Sector-51 resident loses ₹7.25 lakh

In another incident of cyber fraud, fraudsters targeted a Sector-51 resident with a fake phone call that his nephew in Canada had been arrested.

The victim, Balbir Singh, said his relative got a phone call from an unknown person, who provided another phone number to call to understand his nephew’s situation.

Balbir said on calling the phone number, he was informed that his nephew Jassi had been arrested by the Canadian Police and 5,000 Canadian Dollars will be required for his release.

Anxious about his nephew, Balbir deposited ₹7.25 lakh in the given bank account number through two cheques, only to realise that he had fallen prey to cyber fraud.

Police at the cyber crime station have registered separate cases under Sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and launched investigation to trace the fraudsters.