Mumbai: Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal Chairman Duped Of ₹25,515 After Fake Gas Bill Message; Accused Under Lens
A 56-yr-old Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal employee was scammed after clicking a fake MNGL gas bill payment link sent by a woman impersonating a gas department officer. ₹25,515 was fraudulently deducted from his credit card. Cuffe Parade Police registered an FIR & traced the suspect to Haryana. Cyber police warn against clicking suspicious links & urge verification through official channels.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal Chairman Duped Of ₹25,515 After Fake Gas Bill Message; Accused Under Lens | File Pic (Representative Image)
Mumbai: A 56-year-old government employee working with the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) fell victim to a cyber-fraud after clicking a link sent by a scammer posing as an MNGL gas department officer. The Cuffe Parade Police have registered an FIR against an unidentified woman in connection with the online fraud.
About The Case
According to sources, the accused has been traced in Haryana and is likely to be arrested soon. Police are preparing to take him into custody and bring him to Mumbai for further investigation.
The complainant, Anandkumar Krishnan Nair (56), a resident, Badlapur (East). He works as Senior Personal Assistant to the Chairperson of the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, Justice Mangesh Patil, at Maker Tower, Cuffe Parade.On August 25, while Nair was at work, Justice Patil received a message stating that his MNGL gas connection would be disconnected by 9:30 PM due to a pending bill. Concerned, Patil forwarded the message to Nair and requested him to update the billing status.
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The message read as Notification: Dear customer, your MNGL gas connection will be disconnected tonight at 09:30 PM from MNGL office because your previous month bill was not updated. Please immediately contact MNGL office. Mr. Devesh Joshi – 6290465417.”
Nair called the given number, where a woman identifying herself as Joshi Madam instructed him to make a payment of ₹12 to update the gas bill. She then sent him a payment link.
When Nair clicked the link, a window opened asking for credit card details. After entering the card information and the PIN, he instantly received a message alerting him that ₹25,515 had been deducted from his PNB credit card, instead of the stated ₹12.
Realising he had been scammed, Nair immediately lodged a complaint on the 1930 cyber helpline, obtained complaint number 31908250151938, and contacted his bank to block his credit card. Minutes later, the link sent by the scammer was automatically deleted from his phone.
Based on the complaint, Cuffe Parade Police Station has registered an FIR against unknown nidentified female (“Joshi Madam”).The case has been booked for cheating and online fraud under the relevant sections of the BNS and Information Technology Act.
Cyber police have appealed to citizens not to click on links received through unsolicited messages and to verify utility-related alerts only through official websites or customer care numbers. Further investigation is underway.
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