Mumbai: 40 bank customers duped of lakhs in 3 days
Cyber frauds are on the rise across India, and they have now claimed multiple victims in Mumbai. Between Wednesday and Friday (March 1-3), around 40 customers of a single private bank—including TV actor Shweta Menon—were cheated of lakhs of rupees when they clicked on a fraudulent link to update their Know Your Customer (KYC) details. Multiple FIRs have been filed in the matter, too.
Why does this story matter?
Rapid improvements in technology have not only made the lives of people easier but have also given rise to cyber fraud. Scammers are always on the lookout for victims to dupe and steal from. While the judicial system is there to take care of criminals, it is our responsibility to stay vigilant. We hope the Mumbai victims get back their money at the earliest.
How did scammers dupe customers?
The KYC process is mandatory in banks for account verification, and the scammers were aware of the same. They sent a fake SMS to the customers with the message, "Dear customer your Bank ACCOUNT has Been Blocked Today Please Update your PAN CARD, https://rb.gy/x5tvws." The last part was a phishing link. Once victims clicked on it, a hefty sum was deducted from their accounts.
How was Shweta Menon affected?
Once Menon fell prey to the fraudulent message, a sum of Rs. 57,600 was deducted from two accounts that belonged to her and her son. Describing her ordeal, she said, "The scammer stole my banking details after I clicked the link and entered two OTPs, a PAN card number, a net banking ID, and a password. Soon, two fraud fund transfers were carried out."
What kind of victims were targeted?
Aside from fraudulent links, Menon also received a call from a woman posing as a bank official. Obviously, she was part of the scam. According to the Mumbai Police, the scammers targeted a wide variety of victims. They included senior citizens, actors, corporate employees, and even bank officials. However, the cops claimed there was no customer data breach from the private bank in question.
Mumbai Police has issued advisory
To safeguard citizens from cyber fraud, the Mumbai Police has also issued an advisory. It stated that they should refrain from clicking on links that ask for their confidential bank details. In this particular case, 40 FIRs have been registered across the city.
