A man seeking to report a savings account issue was allegedly duped out of over ₹1 lakh after finding a fake customer care number online.
Sandip Kumar Agarwal, 32, of Alif Nagar in Garden Reach, searched for his private bank’s customer care number and landed on a fraudulent website.
Upon calling the number listed on the site, Agarwal spoke to a man claiming to be a bank manager. The imposter convinced Agarwal to register his complaint via a WhatsApp link.
“On July 11, the complainant searched for the customer care number of his bank and ended up on a website he thought was genuine. He dialled the number mentioned on it and spoke to a man who said he was the branch manager,” said an officer of Kolkata Police’s port division.
“The man told him he would send a link on WhatsApp through which Agarwal could register his complaint. The moment he clicked on the link, his phone was compromised.”
Within minutes of Agarwal clicking on the link, ₹1,18,410 was debited from his account, the officer said.
Four men were arrested in connection with the scam. The police said they are part of a gang operating in Calcutta and Jamtara, Jharkhand.
Senior officers highlighted how to differentiate between genuine and fake banking websites. “A fake website will have only a login ID and password section. But a genuine bank website will have multiple tabs and hyperlinks leading to information related to fixed deposits, personal loans, banking rates and more banking services. A genuine website will also have pop-up advertisements, which a fake website will not have,” an officer explained.
Investigations revealed the accused used the swindled money to purchase electronic devices for resale in various parts of the city. The police traced the four men by tracking bank accounts and the stores where these gadgets were bought.
The four — Mohammad Arif Khan, 26, of Entally; Raja Hati, 28, of Lake Town; Mohammad Ahasan Ali, 21, from Entally; and Bikash Kumar, 24, from Dumka district, Jharkhand — were arrested in the Park Street area on Sunday.
The police recovered several new, unopened mobile phones, tablets, wristwatches, power banks, and cash from them. All four have been remanded in police custody until August 2, said deputy commissioner (port division), Kolkata Police, Harikrishna Pai.