Report cyber fraud in time and you might get your money back

LUCKNOW: Reporting online fraud to the cyber cell promptly proved to be a saviour for two victims, who got back the lost amount on Thursday. The cyber cell though is continuing with the investigations to trace the fraudsters.


Kshitij Kumar of Rajajipuram, who owns a small cyber café near old high court, received Rs 2 lakh he had lost on February 2. Similarly, Wazirganj resident Deepak Marilyn received Rs 48,975 he had lost on May 1.

Cyber cell’s nodal officer at Hazratganj, Abhay Mishra said that the amount could be retrieved as the victims reported the fraud to the cell in time. Mishra added that in most cases people are fleeced by callers claiming to be from a bank and seek details of the card or use a skimmer to steal the card details. The amount is then used for shopping, which is done via a gateway. The payment gateway facilitates the payment to the bank.

“The information about the payments made is stored on this gateway. If we get complaints within an hour of the fraud, as a law enforcement agency we send them an e-mail informing them of the fraud, so the payment is blocked and the acquiring bank is also notified,” said Mishra. Later, after submission of our report the amount is retrieved.

Victims of online fraud can send their complaints to the cyber cell on WhatsApp number 9454401495, he said. Kumar told mediapersons that he operates a cyber café near the Collectorate in Wazirganj. “On February 2, a girl visited the cyber café to apply online for some exams. After she was asked to pay Rs 50 though her ATM card she sought my help telling me that she had forgotten her ATM card at her home. I did the transaction by submitting the OTP. A little later I found that Rs 2 lakh cash was withdrawn from my account,” he said.

The girl had left by then. “I was shocked. My friend told me to quickly visit the cyber cell and report the matter,” he said. In another incident, Marilyn lost Rs 48,975 to phishing. But within 20 minutes of losing the money, he reported the matter to the cyber cell.



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