Baited by ‘last day offer’, company director loses Rs 74K in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A 56-year-old company director eyeing to encash "bank reward points" — a not-too-uncommon offer in bank messages — clicked on the wrong web link and made a token payment only to lose nearly Rs 74,000 last week.Cyberfrauds are inventing newer methods to bait victims. This time, it was a message claiming it was the "last day to redeem" benefits.Around 6pm on April 15, Naveen (name changed), from Banashankari I Stage and director of a private electrical company, received a call and a message from an unlisted number. The message included a suspicious link (APK file), prompting the user to select a gift and pay a nominal service fee of Rs 34. Believing it to be genuine, the complainant proceeded with the transaction using his credit card.Within minutes, shock set in as an alert revealed Rs 73,889 had been debited from the same credit card without authorisation. Realising the fraud, the victim contacted the bank, only to learn the credit account was compromised and subsequently frozen.Without losing time, the complainant dialled the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and registered a complaint. The authorities have urged the public to stay cautious of unsolicited calls, messages and links, especially those claiming to be from banks or financial institutions.
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