E-Paper
Citizens loose ₹72 lakh in eight cyber fraud cases
Six persons have lodged a case at Pune’s Chandannagar police station stating that they were cheated to the tune of ₹22.89 lakh by a fraudster who offered them part time jobs
The cyber police have booked unidentified persons for cheating individuals to the tune of ₹68 lakh in eight cases and all the FIRs were registered at various police stations on Friday.
In the first case which took place between January 1 and April 11, a seventy-one-year-old resident of Kothrud has lodged a complaint with the police stating that he was approached by cybercrooks claiming them to be from the provident fund department in Delhi. The suspects told him that the group insurance amount was pending against his name since 2012 and asked him to credit an amount of ₹10.15 lakh amount online. Later, the victim realised that he was cheated and lodged a complaint.
In the second case, a sixty-two-year-old person has lodged a complaint with Sinhagad police against a cyber fraudster who asked him to pay the monthly rental in a different account and cheated him to the tune of ₹4.40 lakh.
The Sinhagad police have booked an unidentified person for cheating a forty-year-old area resident on the promising higher return in an online financial scheme and cheated her for ₹1.58 lakh.
In the fourth case, a thirty-three-year-old doctor from Chatushringi has lodged a complaint with the police that she was duped of ₹99,000 after an unidentified person called her and asked her to deposit the refund amount towards a health checkup camp of recruits.
In the fifth incident, a woman received a call from an unidentified person who portrayed himself as an SBI officer and asked him to share the OTP and siphoned off an amount of ₹3.15 lakh from her bank account.
In the sixth case, six persons have lodged a case at Chandannagar police station stating that they were cheated to the tune of ₹22.89 lakh by a fraudster who offered them part time jobs.
In the seventh case, another professional was cheated of ₹13.65 lakh by a fraudster in an online fraud case.
In the eighth case, a thirty-two-year-old professional was cheated of ₹14.99 lakh by a cheat who promised him huge returns through tasks.
No arrests have been made so far, said police.
Vikrant Deshmukh, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), (Economic Offences Wing and Cyber Cell), said, “Citizens are falling prey to task frauds and online cheating scams in large numbers. We reiterate that no OTP’s must be shared, and senior citizens consult their family members before going ahead with online transactions. The cyber cell will do all it can to protect the citizens from organised cyber fraudsters.”
