Bengaluru man loses money via credit card after clicking link to update delivery location

In yet another case, a man lost ₹27 lakh to a cyber fraudster while attempting to recharge phone via a link sent to him

A 37-year-old private firm employee in Bengaluru lost over ₹46,000 after clicking on a link to update his location for delivering his product. An FIR has been registered at North East Cybercrime, Economic, and Narcotics (CEN) police station.

On November 6, the private firm employee received a phone call saying there was a delivery in his name, and that he needed to update his delivery location within 12 hours. The cyber fraudster sent a link to his mobile number and directed him to click and update the necessary details. The complainant clicked the link and added his location as well as phone number as guided.

Multiple transactions

After a while, he was directed to pay a fee of ₹25 to process the delivery. The victim updated his credit card details. As soon as it was done and an One Time Password (OTP) was filled, ₹548 was deducted from his credit card. Within minutes, he started to lose money from his card in multiple transactions.

The victim immediately approached his bank to block the card. But before the bank blocked the card, he lost ₹46,139. He filed a complaint with the police on November 11.

Fraud over re-charge

In an earlier case, a 35-year-old man, after a failed mobile recharge on a mobile application, which seemed to be like that of a prominent telecom company, lost ₹27 lakh to a cyber fraudster in a case registered in East CEN police station limits. The fraudster allegedly hacked into the victim’s mobile after tricking him to download a mobile application. 

According to the complaint, the man who hails from Indiranagar, made a recharge for his friend’s number on August 14. While the app displayed that the transaction was not successful, the money that was deducted from his account was refunded. After a while, the victim received a call from an individual stating that he was calling from a customer care number and the purpose was to resolve the recharge problem.

The caller asked the victim to download a mobile application called “Airtel Refund.” As per the FIR, the victim downloaded this app through a link provided by the caller. The caller further asked the victim to open a transaction summary in the dropdown.

After he started checking the summary in the account the phone hung. The victim restarted the mobile to find that the WhatsApp application was deleted. On August 27, the payment was not processed and he found that his two accounts were emptied out. The money is yet to be recovered.

Don’t click on unknown links

The police advised people not to click on unknown links as they could be fraudulent ones and lead to loss of money.

Published - November 22, 2024 01:38 pm IST