Mumbai: Woman Loses Rs 6 Lakh in Cyber Scam After ATM Withdrawal Attempt Goes Wrong

Mumbai, 4th October 2024: A 31-year-old woman lost nearly ₹6 lakh in a cyber scam while attempting to withdraw money from an ATM. On September 26, she tried to withdraw ₹5,000 using the cardless feature through her bank app, but the transaction went wrong, and the funds were mistakenly sent to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).

After realizing the error, she immediately contacted the Cyber Control Room at 1930 and also searched online for a customer support number for the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). She found a toll-free number online and dialled it. The man who answered, introducing himself as Suresh Sharma from NPCI, offered assistance. Soon after, she received another call from someone claiming to be Amit Yadav.

Yadav instructed her to download an app and requested access to her mobile screen to provide further assistance, which she allowed. Trusting the callers, she followed their instructions, unintentionally revealing personal details from her Paytm app, which led to ₹93,062 being debited from one of her bank accounts.

The scam continued as another fraudster, identified as Rakesh Kumar Dasora, contacted her and convinced her to share information from her other bank account. Between September 26 and 30, a total of ₹5,98,000 was withdrawn from her two accounts. The fraudsters repeatedly assured her that the money would be refunded within 24 to 36 hours. Realizing she had fallen victim to a scam, she filed a complaint through the cybercrime portal and lodged a police report with the Ghatkopar police station on October 2.

“This is a type of Google scam, where numerous fake numbers for private and government organizations are listed. We have repeatedly asked Google to remove these fake customer service numbers, but no action seems to have been taken,” said a police officer.

Cyber Safety Tips

– Avoid accepting calls from unknown numbers.
– Do not click on unfamiliar emails, URLs, or QR codes.
– Do not accept friend requests from strangers.
– Avoid sharing personal information on social media.
– Always lock your social media profiles and keep them private.
– Use strong, unique passwords for each account.
– Set spending limits on debit/credit cards.
– In case of cybercrime, report it to helpline number 1930.