Fraudsters hack doc’s credit card, shop online for 2.25L

T'puram: Unidentified men hacked credit card details of a city-based doctor and purchased home appliances worth Rs 2.25 lakh from an e-commerce platform.
The victim reported the crime to police minutes after it took place, based on police direction that reporting cybercrimes in the first hour (golden hour) will help trace the accused easily and retrieve money. However, there was no response from police when the victim sought help. His statement was recorded on the 14th day after the crime and an FIR was registered on the 15th day.
The 48-year-old doctor residing at Cheruvaikal was using three credit cards: Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and SBI. The crime took place on the night of March 6. "I received messages of online purchases using the ICICI credit card and also found that the accused tried to hack the other two credit cards as well but in vain. I soon blocked all my cards and filed a complaint with the crime records portal. City cyber police informed me that they can probe only frauds above Rs 10 lakh. On Thursday, Medical College police recorded my complaint, which was filed on March 7 and an FIR was registered on Friday. Police could have arrested the accused easily had they acted on time as the delivery of the purchased products took place hours later," the doctor said.
The accused placed the orders on an online platform and the products were delivered to a house in Bhubaneswar.
Medical College police registered the case under BNS Section 318 (4) for cheating and began a probe. In the meantime, the victim alerted the concerned bank authorities with a request to free him from paying back the defrauded amount. However, the bank has not yet responded positively to the request.