Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): A man lost Rs. 3.20 lakh after money was withdrawn from his bank account via UPI without an OTP or SMS.
According to police, Jitendra Dubey a resident of Uprainganj, filed a written complaint with Kotwali police station regarding withdrawal of Rs. 3.20 lakh from his account in State Bank of India between August 29 and September 2. The complainant discovered the fraud on December 2, when he went to the bank to update his passbook.
He stated that he never received any OTP (One-Time Password) or transaction messages from the bank at the time the money was withdrawn. A case has been registered against an unknown person under Section 318(4) of (BNS) and an investigation has been initiated. Another fraud case is registered in Garha police station.
According to police, Sushil Kumar Sharma, a resident Premnagar, works for a private finance company, reported an online fraud. On the morning of December 3, he received a WhatsApp message claiming he could earn Rs.50 for every online rating.
He provided 5 ratings and received Rs.250. The scammer then asked him to "invest" money to earn more. He transferred Rs.1,000 via UPI and received Rs.1500 back. After providing 5 more ratings, the accused demanded Rs.3,000, which the victim sent via UPI. Shortly after, he was asked for another Rs.1,000, which he sent. The scammer then sent him Rs.6000 back to build trust.
The victim provided 5 more ratings. This time, the scammer convinced him to transfer Rs.7,000, followed by a demand for Rs.28,000, which the victim paid. Finally, the scammer demanded Rs.80,000, promising a total return of Rs.1,50,000. The victim transferred Rs.80,000.
At this point, the victim realised he was being cheated. In total, the unknown individual dishonestly induced the victim to transfer Rs.1,20,000 online. A case has been registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the matter is under investigation.
