FPJ Cyber Secure: Con Poses as WhatsApp Executive, Dupes Elderly Man

Mumbai: A septuagenarian lost Rs20,000 to a cyber fraudster who posed as a customer care executive of the messaging service, WhatsApp. In his police complaint, the Santacruz resident said that his WhatsApp account stopped working at around 8pm on July 1.

To get the technical issue resolved, he started looking for WhatsApp's customer care number on the internet. He then came across a number, dialled it, but the call was put on hold. At the same time, the elderly man received another call from an unknown person who claimed to be speaking from WhatsApp's customer care.

Man duped with the help of an app

The fraudster then slyly made the man download a remote access application on his phone and also asked to make a payment of Rs5. The man diligently followed the instructions, but was left shocked upon receiving two transaction alert messages; Rs1,000 and Rs19,000 had been illegally debited from his account.

Upon being confronted, the fraudster began giving evasive replies and hung up the call. Realising that he had been duped, the man filed a police complaint. A case has been registered under section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code as well as section 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.