Mumbai: 77-year-old seeking Rs 1,100 cab service refund loses Rs 8 lakh – Times of India

MUMBAI: A septuagenarian, who wanted to get Rs 1,100 refund from a private cab service, lost Rs 8 lakh in an online fraud. The fraudster, who posed as a customer care executive of the private cab firm, convinced the 77-year-old retired engineer to download a screen-sharing app on his phone and share his bank account details, and then siphoned off the money in five transactions.
The victim has lodged a cheating complaint at Mahim police station. Sections of the Information Technology Act have also been invoked against the unidentified accused.
The complainant told police that he had hired a private car service on May 27 from Mulund to Mahim. He tried paying the fare of Rs 550 twice through GooglePay, but was not successful. He succeeded in the third attempt, but later he got messages about Rs 1,100 more being deducted.
The next day, when out on a walk with friends at Shivaji Park, he got the private cab service’s customer care number from the internet, but the call couldn’t be connected. One of his friends provided him with the number, which he claimed he got from an acquaintance.
When the complainant dialled the number, the person on the other line identified himself as an customer care executive of the cab company and disconnected the call. Later, while the complainant was returning home, he received a call from another number. When the complainant asked how he could get a refund of Rs 1,100, the ‘executive’ told him to download AnyDesk app and share his bank details. Within 17 minutes Rs 5.99 lakh was deducted from the complainant’s bank account in four transactions. The complainant, along with son, approached Mahim police.
After lodging the FIR, we checked the phone and found that Rs 2 lakh more was deducted. We again went to the police station and informed them,” said the complainant’s son. “We had also called up the bank’s customer care number asking for help but the executive asked us to go to the police. There should be full-time executives to help customers in such emergency situations.”
Police are trying to collect details about the account where the money was transferred by the cyber fraudster. Senior inspector Pravin Kadam said they are trying to track the phone numbers used by the accused.