A 68-year-old man recently became a victim of power bill fraud. The victim had received a message informing that his bill payment was pending and a link was shared with the him to make the payment. As soon as the victim clicked the phishing link and made a transaction through the link, Rs 6.52 lakh got debited from his bank account in separate transactions.
According to the police, on August 28 when the victim was at home he received a message from an unknown number stating that the electricity connection of his residence provided by MAHADISCOM will be disconnected because the last bill payment information has not been updated. The text message also contained a number and asked the victim to contact that number for further enquiries.
When contacted the said mobile holder informed the victim that Rs 100 of light bill has to be paid. The victim agreed after which the victim shared a link to him over WhatsApp. The victim then clicked the link which directed him to a payment gateway page wherein the victim made a transaction of Rs 100 by filing his bank account details, police said.
However, after 15 minutes Rs.6,52,100 got debited from his bank account. Later, when the victim checked the link that he had received on WhatsApp, he noticed that the said link had been deleted, suggesting that someone had used social media to obtain his bank details and technically transfer the money and scam him.
The MAHADISCOM has also issued an advisory on its website informing citizens about the said fraud. "Do not respond to SMS / Calls / WhatsApp messages from unknown sources. MSEDCL does not ask you to contact any person. Do not share your Mobile or Desktop Screens or OTP received to you, in any case while online payments. A consumer can lodge a complaint / FIR to the nearest Cyber police station or register a complaint online at the National Cyber Crime Portal “https://cybercrime.gov.in”
FPJ Cyber Secure |
