₹3.34 Lakh Siphoned Off: Cyber Fraudsters Target Students And Professionals

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Cyber criminals are constantly changing their methods, with their latest tactic targeting students and young professionals by offering fake degrees and scholarships.

In two separate cyber fraud cases reported recently, scammers cheated a student and a private company's zonal head of a total of Rs 3.34 lakh. Kajlikheda police have registered cases and launched investigations.

In the first case, 24-year-old Kareena Yadav, a resident of Imalia Jargar, received a call from a man who introduced himself as Prashant Patel, the Head of Department (HOD) of a private college.

The caller gained her trust by sharing details about her college and then offered to help her obtain her degree certificate and scholarship benefits.

He sent her a link on WhatsApp and instructed her to complete certain banking-related procedures through UPI.

Unaware that she was authorising fund transfers, the student followed the instructions. Soon after the call ended, she received a message stating that Rs 90,100 had been debited from her account.

When she contacted the caller, he assured her that the money would be refunded and later even remarked that she was "lucky" because her entire account could have been emptied.

In the second case, Ankita Shivhare, a zonal head with a private company and a resident of Gehu Kheda, reported that while on an official visit to Neemuch, the mobile phone suddenly began an automatic update and became temporarily unresponsive.

Shortly afterwards, OTP notifications from banks began arriving. On checking the accounts, it was discovered that Rs 1.50 lakh and Rs 94,000 were transferred from two bank accounts to unknown accounts.

The accounts were immediately frozen and a complaint was lodged with Cyber Helpline. However, by then, a total of Rs 2,44,008 had already been withdrawn.

Kajlikheda Station House Officer Pallavi Pandey said both cases were under investigation. Cyber teams have been tasked with tracing the accused through bank account details, mobile numbers and digital transaction records.