A 40-year-old woman in Mangaluru was allegedly cheated of Rs 2.9 lakh by fraudsters who posed as bank officials. The incident occurred after she searched online for the contact number of a branch manager to inquire about an EMI deduction.
How the fraud unfolded
According to a complaint registered at Surathkal police station, the complainant had availed a gold loan of Rs 2.9 lakh from a bank branch in Puttur on May 22. She instructed the bank manager to begin deducting monthly EMIs of Rs 6,000 from June onwards. However, Rs 6,000 was deducted from her account on the same day.
In an attempt to recover the amount, the complainant searched online for the contact number of a branch manager and made a call, which went unanswered. Later, she received a call from a person claiming to be the branch manager. During the conversation, the caller allegedly instructed her to click on the screen start button. After she complied, Rs 94,000 was debited from her account through PhonePe.
Further losses
The caller then allegedly told her to open the bank application, claiming that the deducted amount would be refunded. However, as soon as she opened the app, another Rs 1.98 lakh was debited from her account towards a credit card transaction.
Surathkal police have registered a case and further investigation is on. Authorities urge the public to verify contact numbers from official sources and never share sensitive information over the phone.
