A 14-year-old boy spent more than Rs. 4 lakh in several instalments from his father’s bank accounts to buy online gaming applications and to clear various levels needed to inch ahead for winning and claiming promised rewards.
However, unaware of his son’s misdeed, the father registered a complaint with the Kashimira police, sending the cybercrime unit on a wild goose chase. In his statement to the police, the complainant said that Rs. 4.10 lakh had been fraudulently debited from two of his bank accounts.
Detailed investigations conducted by the cyber team led by Police Inspector- Sujit Gunjkar and PSI- Prasad Shenolkar led to the startling discovery. It came to light that the amount was spent via a digital wallet that was linked to the bank accounts.
Notably, neither did the complainant receive any call or mail, nor were his accounts hacked, indicating the possibility of an insider role who had access to the complainant’s phone. The police team quizzed the 14-year-old boy who admitted that he was hooked to online games and had made the transactions to qualify for various gaming levels.
Further investigations revealed that the boy was using his father’s old mobile phone which was already installed with the digital wallets. The boy was counselled by the police team. In the wake of such incidents, the cyber cell has urged parents to keep a watchful eye on children to avoid the misuse of smartphones for paid online games and appealed to citizens to delete vital data and uninstall applications that contain sensitive information before handing over or selling used devices.
