Mumbai: Doctor Duped in Name of Pest Control, Looses Rs 16 Lakh In Online Scam

A shocking case of cyber fraud has come to light where a former doctor of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was duped in the name of pest control services for her housing society. Acting on the complaint of the woman doctor, the cyber police have registered an FIR. The fraudster, posing as a BMC official, contacted the doctor and diverted her phone calls, leading to unauthorized transactions amounting to ₹16.5 lakh from her bank account. The cyber police have begun an investigation into the matter.

The victim, a retired doctor who previously worked with BMC, was looking to get pest control done in her building. She searched for the official BMC pest control contact number and called the number she found. The person who answered her call claimed to be a BMC employee and informed her that a registration fee of ₹50 was required.

When the doctor questioned this demand, stating that BMC pest control services are free, another individual took over the call and engaged her in conversation. During this time, the fraudster managed to divert her mobile number to another number. Taking advantage of this diversion, the accused systematically transferred large sums from her bank account.

The doctor soon realized that something was wrong when she received an SMS notification about ₹2 lakh being debited from her account. When she questioned the fraudster, he misleadingly informed her that ₹1 lakh was being transferred to another bank account.

Realizing the fraud, the doctor rushed to her banks and immediately blocked all online transactions. However, in the chaos, she forgot to block transactions from her Punjab National Bank (PNB) account. Taking advantage of this, the fraudsters withdrew an additional ₹13 lakh from that account.

Upon checking her bank statement, she discovered that a total of ₹16,14,800 had been fraudulently transferred from her accounts. She immediately reported the incident on the cybercrime portal, following which a formal complaint was lodged with the cyber police station.

Following the FIR, cyber police have launched an investigation to trace the fraudsters. This case highlights the increasing risk of cyber fraud and the need for vigilance while dealing with online financial transactions. Authorities have urged citizens to verify official numbers and avoid making online payments to unknown entities.