Call to fake customer care costs homemaker Rs 1.4 lakh in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A simple cab booking confusion in Delhi turned into a costly affair after a 49-year-old homemaker from Bengaluru was duped of Rs 1.4 lakh by fraudsters posing as Rapido customer care executives.The victim, Shuchi Agarwal, a resident of BTM 4th Stage, travelled to Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from Gurugram by booking a Rapido cab on May 15. After starting the trip, the driver informed her that the drop location was showing Terminal 2. Shuchi had booked a ride for Terminal 1. The driver suggested she contact the call centre if she had any issues. She alleged she did not get a proper response through the app. So, she searched on the internet and found two numbers — 9883371728 and 18004196230.Soon after, she received WhatsApp calls from another number, 9864024086. She initially ignored them, but later attended the call after receiving a WhatsApp message informing her that they were from the customer care. The caller, “Tushar Singh,” assured her that he would resolve the issue. He instructed her to download apps named “Help Desk Host” and “Truecaller” and follow certain steps to “register the complaint.”Even after completing the process, her issue remained unresolved. Meanwhile, she reached the airport and paid the driver. Later, while she was speaking to the so-called customer care staff, she received a fake message stating that Rs 1,45,626 had been debited from her account.Shocked, she questioned him, and was told by the fraudster that the amount had been debited from her account as she made a mistake in raising the complaint and convinced her that the money could be credited back only if she strictly followed his instructions and stayed connected on the call. Meanwhile, her inbox was flooded with messages. Panic-stricken, the victim complied and was made to download the two malicious apps.Little did she know the fraudster was accessing her device after she installed the Help Desk Host app. She received an alert of over Rs 90,000 being debited from her account. “She received a call from her bank for verification. Shuchi replied she did not make the transaction. The bank immediately blocked all further UPI transactions. When the fraudster was unable to siphon off more money, he started shouting at her,” said Shuchi’s husband, Deepak Agarwal.The fraudster then made her add a beneficiary account to her account and, soon he siphoned off another Rs 40,000. Since he was watching her screen, he got to know that her account did not have more money, and he disconnected the call. Shuchi immediately called me and informed me about the fraud. I complained to the bank and on cyber helpline. After she reached Bengaluru, she lodged a complaint,” Deepak said.A senior police officer said a case has been registered under Information Technology Act and BNS Sections 318 (cheating) and 319 (cheating by personation).