Mumbai: A retired naval captain was duped by an unidentified person who hacked the former defence personnel's email ID and siphoned off Rs 50,500. The fraud came to light when the complainant saw the message alerting the transaction done through money transfer. The Gamdevi Police have booked the accused and are investigating the matter.
The 70-year-old retired naval officer, a resident of Altamount Road in south Mumbai, had been doing online banking transactions since March after the Novel Coronavirus pandemic induced lockdown was put in force. Due to inability to step out of the house during lockdown. The captain used to send emails to the bank intimating them about the transactions -- money transfer or bill payments, after which a bank official would call up and confirm the authorisation to proceed.
On August 18, the captain received an intimation from the bank, informing him about a money transfer of Rs 50,500. He immediately called the bank officials and asked him how they initiated the transaction when no email was sent by him. The retired naval officer said, “I asked the official why they did not call me to confirm the authenticity, to which they replied that they are busy and short staffed due to the pandemic. The next day, I went to the bank and enquired, wherein I found out that the bank had received an email from my account, asking to transfer Rs 50,500 to Prakash Enterprises in a private bank's Malviya Nagar account in Delhi.
The retired captain immediately drafted a dispute form and an application to stop the payment claiming it was made by a fraudster. He then approached Gamdevi police station, where a case was lodged against an unidentified accused under relevant sections of the IPC and Information Technology Act. While police are probing the matter and are tracing the accused, no arrests have been made yet.
If you fall victim to cyber fraud: Immediately alert the local police station or call the 24x7 Cyber Helpline – 9820810007. Also alert your bank and fill out a dispute form.
