Bengaluru: Civil contractor loses over Rs 11 Lakh to fraudsters

BENGALURU: A civil contractor from Jakkur lost over Rs 11 lakh to cybercriminals after he responded to a message on payment of electricity bill.
The victim, Balakrishna, 46, told police he received the text message from an unknown number on July 30. It stated that the electricity bill for his residence was pending and asked him to contact a certain number. Believing it to be genuine, Balakrishna made the call. The receiver told him to pay the bill immediately through a link that he would send. When Balakrishna agreed, the miscreant asked him to pay Rs 11 as registration fee through the link.
Subsequently, he received multiple OTPs and later found out that the miscreant had siphoned off Rs 2 lakh cash from his bank account. He also learned that the miscreant had stolen his bank credentials and taken a loan of Rs 9.8 lakh using his documents. He enquired with his bank about the transactions and filed a complaint on August 1. Cops have registered a cheating and cybercrime case against unidentified miscreants.