Police have booked the unidentified accused in this case under sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections under the Information Technology Act. (Representational/File)A 74-year-old woman was duped of Rs 20 lakh by an online fraudster who pretended to be a bank staffer and took her banking details on the pretext of updating ‘know your customer (KYC)’ information linked to her bank account.
“The complainant is a retired lecturer. She had saved her pension money in her bank account. On November 16, she received a call on her cell phone from the fraudster, who identified himself as a bank employee,” said Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Sahane of Alankar police station.
“He asked the complainant to share her bank account and card details, saying he needed them to update her KYC. He told her that unless the KYC information is updated, her bank account will get blocked,” said Sahane.
The woman shared the information and within minutes, Rs 50,000 was withdrawn from her bank account, followed by several similar transactions. A total of Rs 20 lakh was transferred from the complainant’s bank account.
“Probe revealed that the complainant’s money was transferred to a State Bank of India account in Uttar Pradesh. We contacted the bank authorities soon after receiving the complaint in this case. Apprehensive of suspicious transactions, the bank itself had blocked the transaction of Rs 3 lakh. After our communication, it blocked Rs 10 lakh more from being transferred. So, we managed to get back Rs 13 lakh out of the total amount taken out by the fraudster. Attempts are on to get back the remaining Rs 7 lakh. A probe is on to identify and arrest the fraudster and his aides,” said Sahane.
Police have booked the unidentified accused in this case under sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections under the Information Technology Act.