Stolen phone used to dupe farmer of ₹2 lakh

Pune: The Loni Kalbhor police are searching for unidentified thieves who allegedly stole a mobile phone from a parked vehicle near Naigaon Phata in Theur and later used it to carry out online transactions worth Rs 2.07 lakh.

The complainant, 63-year-old farmer Poonamchand Dhumal from Kunjirwadi, approached the police on Friday night. According to the complaint, the theft took place on May 22 and the fraudsters used the stolen phone’s UPI application to transfer money from his account.

Senior inspector Rajendra Panhale of the Loni Kalbhor police said Dhumal owned two mobile phones. “He used one phone only for online transactions and kept it inside his car, while the other was for regular communication,” Panhale said.

Police said Dhumal realised the phone was missing on May 24. The following day, he purchased a new handset and activated a SIM card with the same number. “As soon as he inserted the SIM card, he began receiving messages about online money transfers,” the officer said.

Panhale said the police immediately registered the details on the government cyber portal and traced more than 10 bank accounts linked to the fraud. “We have managed to freeze Rs 68,000 so far and identified other accounts containing around Rs 55,000. The process to freeze those accounts is underway,” he said.

“The fraudsters appear to have cracked the UPI PIN after stealing the phone. We are working to identify the suspects,” he added.