Retired teacher duped of Rs 3.45 lakh by hired driver

BENGALURU: A 60-year-old retired teacher paid a heavy price for leaving her mobile phone in her car to have breakfast at a restaurant. She had hired a driver, Prakash, 31, for her car through an app. Prakash, who was in the car when she went out to eat, took her SIM card from her mobile phone and replaced it with a defunct SIM.

The accused made 46 transactions to the tune of Rs 3.45 lakh by downloading a few online payment apps using her SIM. The phone number was linked to her savings account. The accused purchased a two-wheeler and a mobile phone from the money. When the SIM was activated, she received messages of the bank withdrawals.

Prakash, who hails from Gunnanayakanahalli of Mandya district, has been arrested and his bank account with Rs 1.5 lakh cash has been frozen. “We had taken the service of the driver once through an app and we called him for the second time by directly reaching out to him. My mother did not have any UPI accounts or had shared any OTP with anybody,” Harish S Itagi, son of the victim, said.