Cyber frauds are getting smarter in the lockdown-crushed economy.
An electronics shopkeeper here was tricked of Rs 1.18 lakh from his United Bank of India bank account, Namkum branch, by a caller who told him that he had received a “cash reward” for using a payments app.
Deepak Kumar Deshmukh, 54, fell prey to this unidentified trickster on April 29 between 7pm and 8pm.
“I received a call that I had received Rs 5,000 as reward for using the PhonePe app (for money transfer). I knew about cyber frauds, so at first I refused. But the caller was very polite and convinced me to receive the amount, and asked me to download the Anydesk and Google Pay apps to get the reward in my account,” Deshmukh said.
He added that while downloading the apps, as he concentrated on filling the necessary details, the caller “cleverly asked me” all debit card details. “Busy downloading the apps, my mind was elsewhere and I gave the caller the details. He disconnected, saying the Rs 5,000 would be transferred to my account.”
Then, the shocks came. Not only was the amount never transferred to his account, Deshmukh started getting texts about amounts getting debited.
“I received six messages one after another informing me about various sums being debited from my account. The total amounted to Rs 1.18 lakh. Finally I had to call customer care to block my ATM card,” Deshmukh said.
Officer-in-charge of Namkum police station Praveen Kumar confirmed the fraud and said an FIR was filed in this connection on April 30.
“The matter is being forwarded to cyber cells for a proper investigation. I request all those who frequently use apps for cash transactions to be very careful. Do not share debit or credit card details and account details to anyone over the phone,” OC Kumar said.
