Rs 8.30 lakh lost while shopping online: How 70-year-old woman's towel-buying spree went south

By Team Newsable | First Published Mar 28, 2023, 2:26 PM IST

The 70-year-old Mumbai woman attempted to make an online transaction for Rs. 1,169, but her account was debited with Rs. 19,005. Although she phoned the bank's hotline, she was ultimately conned out of a total of Rs. 8.3 lakh. Know full story here.

Every day, fresh cases of online fraud are reported from various regions of the nation as hackers adapt new techniques to con people out of their money, such as SMS fraud and UPI fraud. A senior person lost Rs. 8.30 lakh in a recent internet scam instance while purchasing towels.

According to a recent PTI report, a 70-year-old Mira Road resident spent Rs 1,160 purchasing six towels from an online retailer. However, on making the online payment, Rs 19,005 rather than Rs 1,169 were taken out of her account. The woman attempted to contact the bank by looking up the contact information and calling the bank hotline, but she was unable to do so.

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Later, she got a call from an unidentified number claiming to be from the bank, offering her assistance with a recent issue she had with an online transaction. The man asked her to download an app for the refund.

Also Read | UPI viral scam: Fraudsters steal Rs 1 crore from 81 users in Mumbai; know their modus operandi

The woman complied with the man's instructions to seek assistance, but she ultimately lost Rs. 1 lakh from her account despite doing so. The woman hurried to the police station after discovering the unauthorised withdrawals, but almost Rs 8.3 lakh had already been taken out.

"The money has gone into the account of an Uttar Pradesh resident. A case has been registered against unidentified persons. Further probe is underway," the MBVV police's cyber cell official added.

Although there have been incidents of internet fraud before, in this case of cyber fraud in particular, the con artist acquired the woman's trust by posing as a bank employee and then convinced her to install an app that provided them access to her mobile device.

Also Read | UPI scams are increasing, 5 ways to keep your money safe

The con artist was able to effectively take money straight from the victim's bank account after acquiring remote access to the victim's smartphone and obtaining all of the sensitive information, including the bank account number, OTP, and others.

This incident serves as an illustration of how fraudsters may prey on vulnerable people, especially elderly who may not be conversant with the intricacies of internet transactions.

(With PTI inputs)

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