A 34-year-old resident of Turbhe lost Rs 1.41 lakhs to a cyber fraudster after unwittingly sharing details of his two credit cards. The fraudster posed as a bank employee, luring the victim with a link for KYC (Know Your Customer) update and deceitfully obtained the credit card information. On February 21, 2024, in the afternoon, the victim, who works as a housekeeping supervisor in a private company, received a call from a cyber fraudster. The fraudster informed him about a supposed Rs 2000 penalty on his credit card, suggesting that it could be waived if he updated his KYC. Due to being at work, the victim requested to discuss the matter the next day.
The following day, the cyber fraudster contacted the victim once again and provided a link, insisting victim to update his KYC. Trusting the fraudster’s deceptive scheme, the victim readily shared his Aadhar and details of one of his credit cards without hesitation. Shortly afterward, he received an OTP, which, unfortunately, he also disclosed to the fraudster. After divulging all the necessary details, the cyber fraudster directed the victim to open an app on WhatsApp. Upon doing so, the victim found nothing visible within the app and promptly notified the fraudster. In response, the fraudster urged the victim to share details of another credit card, claiming it would enable him to view all transactions. Without hesitation, the victim once again received and shared an OTP with the fraudster.
Shortly after sharing the OTP of the second credit card, unauthorized transactions were swiftly initiated. Amounting to Rs 48,960 and Rs 4,000 from one card, and Rs 38,700 and Rs 49,980 from the other, a total of Rs 1,41,700 was fraudulently transferred. Upon reopening the app, the victim was confronted with a record of these unauthorized transactions. When he contacted the cyber fraudster again, reassurance was offered, with promises of refunding all the money. However, when pressed for an explanation regarding the transfer of funds, the fraudster provided an SBI identity card bearing the name "Ankit Kumar." Subsequently, the fraudster abruptly turned off the phone number, severing all communication channels.
Realising that he was cheated, he approached APMC police station and lodged a complaint. The police registered a case under section 420 of IPC for cheating and section 66 C of the IT Act and started a