Puri, February 26: A 40-year-old man from Panikoili village in Odisha's Jajpur fell prey to a fake lottery scam and lost Rs 53,000 to online fraudsters. The victim, Satya Ranjan Panda, lodged a complaint with the Panikoili police on Sunday, February 25. The police have filed a case against unidentified fraudsters and are looking for them.

According to The New Indian Express report, Panda received a text message two weeks ago claiming he had won Rs 1 lakh in a lottery. He was asked to pay Rs 5,000 as a processing fee and Rs 13,990 as GST dues in a bank account to claim the prize money. Panda deposited Rs 18,990 in the account without verifying the authenticity of the message. Online Fraud in Odisha: Youth Dupes Ex-Indian Air Force Officer of Rs 35 Lakh on Pretext of Getting Lost Online Gaming Money Back.

Man Takes Lottery Bait

Later, he received another message stating that he had paid the GST dues in the wrong account and had to pay the same amount again in another account. Panda followed the instructions and deposited Rs 13,990 on Tuesday. He then received a link on his phone and was asked to share his bank account number and IFSC code. As soon as he did so, Rs 19,898 was debited from his account.

Victim Realises and Filed Police Complaint

Panda tried to contact the number from which he had received the messages and the link, but it was switched off. He realised that he had been cheated and approached the police. The police have registered a case and initiated a probe into the matter. They have also appealed to the public to be wary of such fraudulent offers and not to share their personal or banking details with strangers. Loan Fraud in Odisha: EOW Arrests Two Bank Officers in Rs 3.33 Crore Loan Fraud Case.

In another incident, the Odisha Police Economic Offences Wing (EOW) busted a pan-India drug courier fraud and arrested one person in connection, officials said on February 7. EOW inspector general (IG) Jai Narayan Pankaj said his team arrested one Rajat Kumar of Haryana from Himachal Pradesh based on a complaint filed by Ratna Tripathy, a Bhubaneswar-based journalist after she was allegedly ripped off by a gang of cyber crooks posing as delivery courier staff and officials of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 26, 2024 12:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).