BMTC official duped by fake ‘Mumbai police’, loses ₹95,000

The perpetrator accessed the official’s bank account details on the pretext of verification and got the amount transferred

Image for representation. | Photo Credit: AP

A senior official with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) lost ₹95,687 to a man, who posed as a customer care executive and later as a deputy commissioner of police (DCP) with the “Mumbai crime branch” and informed her that her Aadhaar card had been misused. Later, he accessed her bank account details on the pretext of verification and got the amount transferred.

The victim complained to the South division cybercrime police that she received a phone call from an unknown number on Wednesday afternoon and the caller identified himself as an executive with an international courier company. He informed her that a parcel in her name contained drugs and asked her to contact the customer care service for further details.

Shocked, the victim called the number shared with her and said she did not know anything about the parcel. A few minutes later, a person posing as a DCP from the Mumbai crime branch called her over an app and said that someone had misused her Aadhaar card for illegal activities. Assuring to help her, the accused asked her to follow the instructions and transfer the money to his account for verification. Trusting him, she followed the instructions. She, however, realised that she had been duped after the caller went incommunicado.

In a similar incident, a private firm employee complained to the West division cybercrime police on the same day that conmen posing as courier executives and a CBI officer threatened him with couriering drugs and made away with ₹13.6 lakh on the pretext of verification.

Earlier this week, Police Commissioner B. Dayananda launched a campaign to create awareness and share different types of fraud committed by cyber crooks.

On the launch of the ‘Cyber Tip A Day’ campaign, Mr. Dayananda explained how cyber crooks posing as executives of courier companies call people randomly and say that they have obtained a parcel with drugs in their names and they have complained to the Mumbai crime branch. Another associate of the gang posing as a police officer calls them and asks the victims to follow the instructions and download an app on their phone for a video call. Once the app is downloaded, the accused will have access to the personal details of the victims, after which the accused will either blackmail the victims for ransom or transfer the money online to their account, he said.