A Salt Lake resident was cheated out of Rs 2.48 lakh after she got a call from an unknown number saying her power supply was about to be snapped if she did not clear her outstanding bills.
She was asked to install an app for a quick payment. Soon after the installation, Rs 2.48 lakh was deducted from her bank account.
A man from Asansol was arrested for the alleged online fraud on Tuesday, police said.
The complainant had received the call in August last year.
The woman, who thought the caller was from the electricity office, believed what the man said and agreed to install the mobile phone application to make the payment, she told the police.
“What the woman had downloaded was a screen-sharing app. She was unaware that by downloading the app and by sharing a passcode that appeared on the phone, she was allowing remote access to the device to the person on the phone. The person then asked her to make a test payment of Rs 10,” said an officer of the cyber cell of Bidhannagar police.
A few minutes after she transferred Rs 10, the woman received text messages on her phone mentioning that six more transactions have been made and a total of Rs 2.48 lakh had been withdrawn from her account.
Once she realised the fraud, she reported the matter to the police.
Police started tracking the suspect through the bank accounts and the e-wallets where the money was transferred. Police zeroed in on a then man from Asansol.
“Aquib Raza, 26, a resident of Asansol, has been arrested in connection with this case. We suspect there are more members in the gang,” said the officer.
70-year-old injured in accident
A 70-year-old woman travelling in a car was injured as the vehicle turned over on Ambedkar bridge on EM Bypass on Wednesday morning.
Police said Nazma Ahmed, a resident of Rabindra Sarani, has been admitted to SSKM Hospital.
