Retired bank employee loses Rs20L to remote-access app fraud

doneHyderabad: A 78-year-old retired bank employee lost Rs20 lakh after installing a malicious remote-access application sent by cyber fraudsters. The Hyderabad Cyber Crime police have registered a case and launched a probe.The victim, a resident of Mehdipatnam, lodged a complaint on Monday alleging that he received multiple text messages on February 13 from his bank confirming seven high-value debits from four joint accounts he holds with family members.Alarmed, the septuagenarian immediately called the bank's helpline and the national cyber fraud hotline, 1930, to block further transactions. By then, Rs20 lakh had already been siphoned off and a fixed deposit had been prematurely closed, he told the police.According to the police, the fraudsters first contacted the victim through a Facebook page titled ‘Union Retired Staff Benefits', offering a new pension credit card. When the victim clicked on the link, he received another web link sent from an unknown number on WhatsApp. On clicking the link, he downloaded an APK file bearing the Union Bank of India logo. Police said the fraudsters remotely gained access to his phone through the application and executed seven unauthorised transfers from four of his bank accounts on Feb 13.Acting on the complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act and Sections 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 319(2) (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on Monday. MSID:: 128467044 413 |