Vice Admiral’s mother-in-law loses ₹2 lakh to cyber frauds

According to the police, the complainant, S Pushkala, received a message on September 3 from an unknown number, claiming that her reward points would expire soon and to redeem them in cash, she should click on the link sent in the message

Mumbai: An 81-year-old woman, mother-in-law of an Indian Naval officer, lost ₹2 lakh to cyber frauds while trying to ‘redeem’ her bank’s rewards points. The woman stays with her daughter and son-in-law, Rajaram Swaminathan, Vice Admiral, Indian Navy.

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According to the police, the complainant, S Pushkala, received a message on September 3 from an unknown number, claiming that her reward points would expire soon and to redeem them in cash, she should click on the link sent in the message.

“She followed the instructions and clicked the link, and filled in the necessary details. After some time she received OTPs, which she filled in the link-led page thrice, and the next day learnt that she had lost ₹83000, ₹83,000 and ₹19,000 from her bank account in three transactions,” an officer from Cuffe Parade police station said.

The unknown frauds were booked under sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating) and under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

“We are trying to trace in which accounts the funds were diverted,” the police officer said.