Indore (Madhya Pradesh): City Congress President and Leader of Opposition in the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), Chintu Chouksey, fell victim to a cyber attack after his mobile phone and WhatsApp account were hacked on Tuesday.
The fraudsters used the compromised account to ask for urgent financial help from Chouksey’s acquaintances, demanding sums ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 55,000.
The ordeal began when Chouksey was working in his ward and received a deceptive call claiming that a parcel delivery was pending, but the driver could not locate his address. The caller asked Chouksey to dial a specific number to provide his location.
"I hadn't ordered anything, but I thought it might be a T-shirt exchange," Chouksey said. "I tried calling the provided number two or three times, but it didn't connect."
Shortly after these attempts, Chouksey’s phone stopped receiving incoming calls. Unbeknownst to him, the hackers had gained control of his WhatsApp and began messaging his contact list, citing a financial emergency.
The fraud came to light when concerned friends and colleagues reached out via alternative means to ask why he suddenly needed large sums of money. Realising he was a victim of cybercrime, Chouksey immediately reached the DCP Crime Branch office to lodge a complaint.
Chouksey has issued a public appeal urging everyone to remain vigilant against such delivery-related scams and never to dial unknown codes or numbers given by strangers.
