Indore: Rs 8.9 lakh fraud ‘powered’ by conman

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): An elderly woman was duped of Rs 8.9 lakh by a conman, who posed as an officer of the electricity board, a police officer said on Thursday. The accused had sent a link pertaining to the due electricity bill on the woman’s mobile.

When she contacted the number mentioned in the message, the accused sent a link and managed to siphon off money from her bank account accessing her mobile. Fortunately, the cyber cell officers managed to return Rs 8.71 lakh to the woman and they are investigating the remaining amount.

THE CASE

A 69-year-old woman lodged a complaint on January 31 that she had received a message from an unknown number in which it was mentioned that her power bill was due and the bill should be paid to avoid disconnection. The wary woman dialled the mobile number mentioned in the message. The conman posed as an officer of the electricity board and informed her that she could pay the bill through the link forwarded by him.

After the woman clicked on the link, the accused got access to her mobile phone and all bank details through the link and managed to mop up Rs 8, 90, 906 from her account. After sensing the fraud, the woman contacted the state cyber cell immediately and reported the matter.

PROBE REVEALED

Investigating officer inspector Rashid Ahmad told the Free Press that the conman transferred the cash to a wallet after which he transferred the money to a gaming platform in three instalments. He transferred the money to mislead the cyber cell officer and to withdraw money from their fake account.

After receiving a complaint, the cyber cell officers initiated a probe on the basis of the transaction id. The e-wallet company and the concerned person from a gaming platform were contacted by the officers and the cops managed to retrieve Rs 8.71 lakh which was credited to the woman’s account in four hours.

 REMAINING AMOUNT?

Inspector Ahmad said that a total amount of Rs 8,90,906 was deducted from the woman’s account and Rs 8.71 lakh was returned to her. The investigation is on to know the status of the remaining amount which was not credited to her bank account. It is believed that this amount was withdrawn or transferred to another bank account or e-wallet by the conman. The detail of every transaction is being checked closely to know the status of the same.

Published on: Friday, February 03, 2023, 12:14 AM IST