Chandigarh: Swindlers cheat man of Rs 12.65L, invest amount in crypto currencies

The investigation revealed that the fraudsters managed to hack the SIM card of victim Krishan Kanhiya of Sector 41, and transferred Rs 12.65 lakh from his pension account through online banking into an online wallet and further purchased many crypto currencies. The cheating came to light when Kanhiya’s son Rahul Rawat had gone to Axis Bank, Sector 17, to check the balance on February 1.

A source said, “The mobile phone, which was used for online banking, was found to be operated in Maharashtra according to the IMEI number of the phone. It is yet to be ascertained how the swindlers managed to clone/copy the SIM card of Krishan Kanhiya, who was sitting in Chandigarh when cash was transferred from his account. Apparently, Krishan Kanhiya unknowingly opened some web links or shared information about the confidential details of his account with the unknown persons. The matter is under investigation.”

The police learnt that the swindlers managed to break a fixed deposit (FD) of Kanhiya, who is a retired officer from a leading private insurance firm. A total of Rs 12.65 lakh was withdrawn in four instalments. The money was transferred to an online wallet on January 28, January 29, January 30 and January 31.

“We are yet to receive the official communication from the online wallet about the names of crypto currencies, which were purchased through the cheated amount. A team was constituted for apprehending the involved persons. We received vital information about the accounts, cell phones which were used in the crime. There was around Rs 15 lakh in the account of Krishan Kanhiya. His son, Rahul Rawat, informed us and we froze his father’s account. Hence some of the amount was saved,” a cyber cell officer said. A case was registered at Sector 17 police station.