The Vakola police on Monday successfully facilitated the retrieval of over Rs 62,000 that a Santacruz resident had lost in a phishing scam earlier this year.
According to the Vakola police, the complainant, Vikas Khandale, 45, got a call in May from someone claiming to be from a courier delivery service. As it happened, Khandale was actually expecting a courier and hence, believed the caller. During the course of the conversation, the caller convinced Khandale to reveal his sensitive banking details in the name of 'company policy'. Shortly thereafter, he started getting messages about repeated money transfers from his account, which collectively came up to Rs 62,998.
Khandale subsequently approached the Vakola police and an FIR was registered against unidentified persons for cheating under the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
The investigating team subsequently approached Khandale's bank as well as the bank to which the money had been debited, so that the transaction could be frozen and reversed.
"We found that the accused had transferred the money to an ewallet service as well as made some purchases on an online shopping portal. We obtained the Unique Transaction Reference (UTR) number of both these transactions and contacted both the platforms, asking them to freeze and reverse the transactions," said an officer who was part of the investigation.
A UTR number is a reference number for identifying an NEFT, IMPS, or RTGS transaction and every bank in India uses UTR numbers for all local modes of money transfer.
After sustained coordination and follow- up, the police successfully reversed all the concerned transactions and returned all of Khandale's money to him. Investigations are now underway to identify and apprehend the accused, officers said.
"Since the complainant notified us about the incident promptly, we could coordinate with the banks and other relevant authorities swiftly, which is how we managed a 100% recovery of his lost amount," said senior police inspector Pradip More, Vakola Police Station.
He added that cases of such cases are now on the rise.
"What should be noted in such cases, by the people, is whenever you get a text message from your bank saying any amount is credited or debited - without your knowledge or involvement - people should immediately contact the nearest police or the cyber cell. If action is taken within 12 to 24 hours after the offence, the chances of your money coming back to you are higher," he said.
