Mumbai, July 27: A 24-year-old man had no idea how much it would cost his family to reply to a message about an overdue power bill. On her phone, the mother of the victim had received a text message notifying her of the overdue power bill. She instructed the victim to read the message, and when he did, he dialled the number listed for the "electricity officer" in the message.

The 'official' tricked the victim into downloading a remote access programme on his phone and then persuaded him to conduct a transaction for Rs 140. Post this, the victim's mother lost Rs 7.07 lakh from her bank account in nine transactions over the course of a few hours. Online Fraud in Mumbai: Fraudsters Dupe Woman of Rs 11 Lakh on Pretext of Providing ‘Youtube Likes’ Job, Five Arrested.

Modus Operandi

According to the police, the victim lives in Dombivali, and his mother has an account with a nationalised bank in the Byculla branch. On July 18, the victim's mother got a text message on her phone warning her that if she didn't pay her electricity bill, the power to her house might be cut off. She then told the victim about the aforementioned communication.

After calling the number listed for the "electricity officer" in the message, the victim was told to download an app on his phone and pay Rs 140 to finish the procedure. Online Fraud in Mumbai: Woman Duped of Rs 10 Lakh After Being Lured for Work From Home Scam and Bitcoin Investment.

The victim unknowingly followed the directions before realising that his mother's bank account had been debited for Rs. 7.07 lakh. When the victim realised he had been tricked, he went to the police to report it. Under provisions 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation while utilising computer resources) of the Information Technology Act, the police have filed a complaint. The victim has also given the police the beneficiary account numbers where the money was put.

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 27, 2023 10:53 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).