BENGALURU: A BMTC driver was trying to book transport online to procure rice from Andhra Pradesh Tuesday, but lost around Rs 2.3 lakh in less than 10 minutes after he clicked on a suspicious link.
In his complaint to police, the victim, Dileep Huvappa Pol, 47, stated he wanted to purchase 8 to 10 tonnes of quality rice from a trader in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. While searching online for transport services on March 10 to check the charges and delivery time from Nellore to Bengaluru, he received a call from an unknown number. "The caller claimed to be from a well-known transport company and spoke in Hindi. He asked if I was looking for transport. When I asked for the price, he said he would send me a link where I could see truck driver details and the price list based on distance," Dileep stated.
After the call ended, he received a message containing a link. Assuming it was genuine, he clicked on it. "Shortly afterwards, my phone froze. I suspected something was wrong. The money was debited from my bank accounts."
As per Dileep's complaint, Rs 90,000 was first transferred to the UPI ID navirajibulislam4828@naviaxis, Rs 99,000 to 8272934602@nyes and 907336342@nyes, and Rs 40,000 to 907336343@nyes from another account. In total, around Rs 2.3 lakh was fraudulently siphoned off between 10.10am and 10.20am.
Soon after the transactions, Dileep's mobile phone was allegedly switched off automatically and his Whats App account was logged out, leaving him unable to access the device. When he approached his banks requesting them to block the transactions, he was advised to lodge a complaint with police. He was allegedly told that the issue could take up to three months to be resolved.
A senior officer said a case was registered under Information Technology Act and Section 318 (cheating) of BNS and an investigation is under way.
"If fraudsters can access activities on my mobile phone and commit fraud, why can't the govt and Reserve Bank of India take stricter measures to safeguard our money?" Dileep questioned.
HM Chaithanya Swamy is a Special Correspondent at The Times of In...
Read MoreHM Chaithanya Swamy is a Special Correspondent at The Times of India, Bengaluru, with 15 years of experience. He has established a strong reputation in crime and civic reporting, covering a wide range of issues including traffic challenges, cybercrime, and criminal trends in Bengaluru. His reporting spans high-profile investigations led by agencies including National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Directorate of Enforcement (ED), as well as key state police agencies, court proceedings, and crimes against women and children.
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