Maharashtra Cyber Fraud: 56-Year-Old Palghar Man Duped Of ₹7 Lakh In e-KYC Scam; Case Registered

Mumbai: The police are on the lookout for a fraudster who posed as a bank executive and, on the pretext of doing e-KYC of the customer over a video call, siphoned over Rs 7 lakh in over a dozen online transactions.

According to the Tarapur police, the 56-year-old complainant is a resident of Tarapur in Palghar. On March 13, he received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as a bank employee and sought Aadhaar card details for e-KYC.

After checking documents, the complainant was induced to download a remote access app on his phone and he spoke to the scammer over the video call for over 30 minutes. Once the app was installed, the scammer siphoned Rs7.41 lakh in 13 online transactions from his bank accounts.

A case was filed under section 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act. The complainant has provided details of the WhatsApp number used by the scammer, and fraudulent transaction details to the police in his complaint.

“One should never share their bank details, credit or debit card details, UPI pin or OTP with anyone, including the bank,” said a police officer. He added, “Even though the KYC process is digital, no financial institution asks you to download third-party apps to complete the process. No bank or digital e-wallets will ask for KYC over a text message or WhatsApp”.