Here’s how Bengaluru woman lost Rs 1 lakh from digital wallet without OTP or clicking any links

By Vinaykumar Patil | First Published Nov 25, 2023, 1:07 PM IST

A Bengaluru woman loses Rs 1 lakh in a cyber fraud without receiving OTP or clicking links. A hacker posing as her father's friend manipulated her, deducting funds through UPI. Despite difficulties reporting to Cyber Crime, she faced harassment from the fraudster and police delays.

A distressing cyber attack has left a woman in Bengaluru reeling after losing Rs 1 lakh from her digital wallet without ever receiving an OTP or clicking on any suspicious links. The victim, whose identity remains undisclosed, fell victim to a hacker who cunningly posed as a close friend of her father, or pretended to be one, siphoning off a significant sum from her digital account.

According to her account of the incident, the hacker allegedly called her, masquerading as her father's confidant, and convinced her that he was initiating a money transfer through UPI. However, the woman expressed her dismay, claiming that despite the transaction, she never received any verification code or links typically associated with such transactions.

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The ordeal unfolded between 4:45 and 5:00 pm on a Wednesday. Notably, the victim emphasized that she did not receive any OTP or link that would have triggered the unauthorized withdrawal of funds from her account.

Experts weighed in on this troubling trend in the hacking realm, citing instances where encrypted text messages contain codes that facilitate unauthorized access to personal accounts. The victim, in an interview with an English website, recounted receiving an unfamiliar call from a number where the caller, speaking in Hindi, purported to be a CA and a friend of her father.

The caller, under the pretext of facilitating a transfer initiated by the victim's father, requested her UPI ID. Subsequently, he claimed to have sent money to her wallet through PhonePe. However, the victim detailed how following the caller's instructions led to deductions of Rs 25,000 twice and later Rs 50,000 without any link or OTP prompts. Curiously, the fraudster addressed her familiarly as "beta" and urged her to click on messages he sent.

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In the midst of this deception, while she was driving, the victim informed the caller she would speak later and disconnected the call. It wasn't until she contacted her father that she realized the call was a fraudulent scheme. She further alleged encountering difficulties when she tried to report the incident to the Cyber Crime department, claiming the staff didn't comprehend Hindi or English.

During her visit to the police station, she asserted encountering delays as the officers appeared preoccupied with official duties, possibly related to the security of government officials like the Chief Minister or the Governor. Despite her efforts, she claimed the culprit persistently called her even while she was at the police station, harassing her over 20 times the following day, promising to return the deducted amount.

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