Doctor pursuing mistaken transaction loses ₹1.5 lakh

Doctor pursuing mistaken transaction loses ₹1.5 lakh

Chaithanya.Swamy@timesofindia.com 

Bengaluru : In the latest cybercrime reported in the city, a 32-year-old doctor who raised a complaint with National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) about a mistaken transaction fell prey to cybercrooks and ended up losing Rs 1.5 lakh. According to police, this is a new type of cybercrime reported in the city in recent days. Dr Raksha (name changed) told Annapoorneshwarinagar police in her complaint that she wanted to send Rs 10,000 to someone known to her through a digital payment app on Aug 27. However, the Nagarabhavi resident ended up sending it to the wrong person. 

After realising that she had made a mistake, Dr Raksha visited the NPCI portal to register a complaint. NPCI is a payment and settlement infrastructure initiative of the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks’Association. She entered the details such as the type of transaction, the first six and last four digits of her debit card number, bank name and ac count number, mobile number, and her name, and raised a complaint. She received a call from two numbers on Aug 31. 

The callers introduced themselves as NPCI officials and on the pretext of helping her get her money back and close the complaint, they asked her to reveal her bank balance. After she shared the details they sought, the miscreants asked her to open her bank’s mobile app. As Dr Raksha had not installed the app, they asked her to download it and register. They made her keep the app open until they finished the “verification and refund”. According to her, the miscreants siphoned off Rs 1,49,777 from her account in multiple transactions. 

She noticed the amount debited from her account and told them about the same. However, they claimed it was due to technical glitches, and they would resolve the issue. She suspected that they were cheating her and complained to the cyber helpline. She lodged a  complaint with police on Sept 2. A senior officer said they are investigating how the cybercrooks accessed the details of her complaint to NPCI. A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and the investigation is in progress.