65-year-old Panchkula man loses ₹25,000 to online fraud

Fraudsters called Sector 20 resident, offering him help to update his Paytm KYC

Fraudsters duped a 65-year-old man of ₹25,000 after contacting him to update his Paytm account’s know your customer (KYC) details, police said on Wednesday.

On January 16, MS Walia received a text message on his mobile number, stating his Paytm account will be blocked in 24 hours. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Complainant MS Walia, a resident of Sector 20, Panchkula, told the police that on January 16, he received a text message on his mobile number, stating his Paytm account will be blocked in 24 hours if he didn’t update his KYC details.

The next day, he received a phone call offering him help to update the KYC. “During the conversation, the caller, who identified himself as a Paytm representative, asked me to share my debit card number, expiry date, CVV number, which I did,” Walia told the police.

“After a few minutes, the complainant got messages regarding three transactions – ₹9,990, ₹9,989 and ₹5,000 (total ₹24, 979) — being deducted from his savings bank account,” said sub-inspector (SI) Dhoom Singh, investigating official in the case.

Walia immediately rushed to his bank branch to verify the transactions from his account, and was advised to report the matter to the police.

“We have initiated an investigation. The complainant has submitted the mobile number used to contact him. A cyber cell team is reviewing the fraudulent transactions,” the SI said.

A case under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at the Sector 20 police station. In a similar case, on January 24, an accounts officer of the Haryana education department was duped of ₹1.15 lakh after being contacted to update his Paytm KYC details.