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Journalism of Courage
A 72-year-old retired government employee of Madhya Pradesh staying in Pune, who was seeking assistance to receive her pending pension arrears, lost Rs seven lakh to cyber fraudsters who posed as executives of the call centre of a public sector bank.
The fraudsters used a remote access application to siphon off funds from her account, the police said. A First Information Report has been registered at the Chatushrungi police station. The woman lives in Pune with her daughter, the police added.
According to her complaint, on May 15 around 12.30 pm, she searched the Internet for assistance to get her pending pension arrears. During the search, she came across a number. When she called the number, a man on the other end identified himself as the executive of a call centre of the bank where the complainant has her pension account.
The man inquired about the issue faced by the complainant in detail to gain her trust. He subsequently asked her for her ATM pin and asked her to download a screen sharing remote access application on her phone. He subsequently sent her a link to an online form that sought her personal and bank details.
Minutes after she filled up the details in the online form, she started receiving messages of funds being withdrawn from her bank account. She lost a total of Rs 6.97 lakh within minutes. She immediately told the family members about it and approached the Cyber Crime police station with a complaint.
Following a preliminary inquiry, an FIR was registered at the Chatushrungi police station last week. An officer of the police station said a probe has been launched into the phone numbers and the bank accounts used by the suspects.
