FPJ Cyber Secure: Thane Woman Tracking Husband’s New Passport Loses ₹2.1L To Scamster; Case Filed

Mumbai: A 65-year-old retired banker who was expecting delivery of her husband’s passport at her home recently became the victim of a phishing scam and lost Rs2.16 lakh, according to police.

The woman came across a fake Speed Post number on the internet and the fraudster, while pretending to help her, shared a phishing link and asked her to make a Rs5 transaction. The fraudster then siphoned Rs2.16 lakh from her bank account in multiple transactions.

According to the police, the victim is a resident of Thane. Her husband had applied for a passport in October 2023. On November 23, the victim received her husband’s passport tracking number from the passport office. However, when she tried to check the status of the passport, she was unable to do so by using the tracking number. She then surfed the internet and came across a customer support number.

Victim Received Call From Bank Regarding Huge Amount Transactions

The victim contacted the said number and the fraudster shared a phishing link with her. He asked the victim to make a Rs5 transaction. The victim followed the instructions and the fraudster told her that her issue will be addressed soon. On November 27, the victim received a call from her bank asking her if she had made any high amount transactions, the police said.

The victim then checked her bank account and was shocked to realise that Rs2.16 lakh had been transferred in three transactions. The victim then approached the police and got an offence registered in the matter. The police have registered a case under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.