‘Corona villain’ swindles Rs 1.28 lakh from Irulars

CHENNAI: As if the loss of livelihood owing to the lockdown was not enough for tribals in many areas, a ‘corona villain’ in Chengalpattu district has allegedly conned at least 45 Irulars of Rs 1.28 lakh. Promising them assistance from the ‘Prime Minister’s relief fund,’ he collected their bank details and debited the cash from their accounts, police said.

Around 84 Irular families are living in Chinneri village of Chengalpattu district. Lakshmi* (name changed), the main contact for a women self-help group in the area, received a call at 10 am on Friday. “A man, claiming to be a bank official, said tribals are being provided cash from the PM’s relief fund to help see them through the lockdown. Knowing their struggles, I thought this might be a huge relief for them. So, I collected all the details he asked for, including CVV numbers, and sent it to him by 1 pm. I now feel bad for leading them into this trap,” Lakshmi rued.

The man had called her again to collect one-time-passwords. Only on Saturday did the victims realise that sums ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 had been debited from their accounts. The families immediately alerted Village Administrative Officer Selvam. “When I went to the village, people were crying,” Selvam said.

Police registered a case and transferred it to the cyber crime wing. “The man’s phone has been switched off since Saturday and we are trying to trace him,” an officer said.