81-Year-Old Goregaon West Resident Duped of Rs 7.5 Lakh in Cyber Scam
An 81-year-old senior citizen residing in Goregaon West, Mumbai, was defrauded of Rs 7.5 lakh in a multi-stage cyber scam that took place between July 3 and July 7. The victim was targeted by fraudsters posing as an e-commerce customer care representative and a bank employee. The Mumbai Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation into the matter.
The senior citizen and his wife live in Goregaon West, where they frequently shop for their daily needs using an online e-commerce platform. The chain of events began on July 3, when the complainant ordered clothes hangers on the platform. Although the items were scheduled for delivery on July 6, no delivery was made on that date.
On July 7, the complainant searched online for the customer care number of the e-commerce platform to inquire about his delayed order. Around 2 PM on the same day, he received a phone call from an individual claiming to be a customer care representative of the platform.
The caller advised the senior citizen to make several purchases on the platform and then cancel them, claiming this process would ensure his previous order was delivered quickly. The caller also insisted that the senior citizen share his mobile phone screen to receive better assistance during the process.
After the complainant shared his screen, a sum of Rs 99,982 was debited from two of his debit cards. Seeking to address the issue, the senior citizen searched online for his bank's customer care number to report the unauthorized transactions.
He subsequently received another phone call from a person claiming to be a bank representative. This caller asked the senior citizen to share his phone screen once again. Trusting the caller's credentials, the senior citizen complied. This second interaction resulted in an additional sum of Rs 6 lakh being debited from his bank account.
Following the cumulative loss of Rs 7.5 lakh, the senior citizen registered a complaint on the Mumbai Police’s 1930 cybercrime helpline. The police are currently probing the case further to identify and apprehend the fraudsters involved in the scam.
