CEO defrauded of ₹10 lakh in Parel

The police have registered a case under sections 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.

Mumbai: A 73-year-old Parel resident and Chief Executive Officer of an Ahmedabad-based private company have filed a complaint claiming that a fraud posing as an executive of an international club under the pretext of providing a Diner’s Club Premium Elite Card to him fraudulently obtained his credit card details and carried out transactions worth nearly ₹10 lakh.

The police have written to the concerned bank seeking details of the beneficiary bank account/individual and also analysing phone calls details of the fraud’s mobile number (Image for representation)

As per the police, the complainant first received a call on September 21, 2022, from the fraud who told him that if he takes the Citi Bank (Diner’s Club International) Premium Elite Credit Card, then he would get ₹52 lakh credit limit, airlines allowance across India and many more incentives and discounts. He also said that the card will be free for a lifetime.

After the complainant showed interest in availing of the offer, the fraud sent him a link to an online form. The complainant furnished all his details on the form. After this, another link was sent to the complainant on WhatsApp.

When the complainant clicked on the link, his Credit card’s details were already there in the form and he was directed to put in his credit card’s CVV number, the FIR stated.

The fraud then told the complainant that to get the elite card’s scheme activated, he needs to have a smartphone (except an iPhone). Since the complainant had an iPhone, the accused person sent a new phone to the complainant, a police officer said.

Later on, September 23 and 24, the accused induced the complainant to take out his Sim card from his iPhone and put it in the smartphone. The complainant followed the instructions but there was no network on his phone, the officer added.

On September 26, the complainant received an SMS from the bank informing him that the outstanding on his credit card had been converted into EMIs and when the complainant contacted the branch office, he discovered that on September 24 someone had withdrawn around ₹10 lakh from his credit card, says the FIR.

The police suspect that to ensure that the complainant does not get the SMS alerts, the fraud had sent a new android phone. The accused also diverted SMS service from the complainant’s phone to process the OTP, a police source said.

The police have registered a case under sections 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.

The police have written to the concerned bank seeking details of the beneficiary bank account/individual and also analysing phone calls details of the fraud’s mobile number, said another officer.