A 56-year-old businessman was duped of Rs 2.2 lakh by an imposter after he had called 'Google Pay helpline' to reverse a mis-transaction of Rs 1,999. The imposter sought the debit card details and OTP, CVV, after which the amount was debited from the complainant's account in a series of transactions. Mahim Police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.
Jaiprakash Dwivedi, 56, a Mahim resident, is a frequent user of Google Pay to make quick transactions. On July 19, Dwivedi accidentally paid Rs 1,999 to a Reena, instead of paying another account. In a desperate attempt to reverse the transaction, Dwivedi looked up the Google's search engine to get a customer service care number for assistance, and found a number.
Upon calling the number, Dwivedi was connected to a man who introduced himself as a customer care agent and asked what the complainant’s issue was. Dwivedi then discussed his problem and expressed that he wanted an amount reversal due to a mis-transaction. The imposter then sought details like 16-digit debit card number, Dwivedi's bank account number, card's expiration date and the CVV number.
"The imposter then kept me busy while I received a number of One Time Password (OTP) and he asked me to share them, in a bid to initiate the reversal procedure. I believed him and shared the details, only to lose Rs 2.2 lakh in a series of 11 transactions. When I inquired with him about these transactions, the agent told me that the amount will be credited in the account in the next 15 minutes before hanging up the phone," said Dwivedi in his complaint.
After waiting for about three hours, Dwivedi realised he was duped and cross checked with his mobile banking application, only to find that the money had not been reversed. He immediately approached Mahim Police and the Mahim branch of his nationalised bank and filled out a dispute form. Earlier this week, police have booked the unidentified accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.
Police said, this case included two types of frauds-- the traditional banking fraud and Google listing fraud. "One should always check for customer care numbers on the official website of the bank/institution, and make sure that the privy bank details are not divulged in any form," a senior official said. The Call Data Record (CDR) and bank statement has been sought to identity and nab the accused.
