Singer Ravi Mehra Duped of Rs 45,000 in Zepto Call Scam in Andheri
The Amboli police registered an FIR on September 30 after 73-year-old singer Ravi Mehra was allegedly defrauded of Rs 45,000 in a suspected three-way call merge scam in Andheri (West).
Mehra, an Andheri (West) resident, received a phone call on September 20 from an unidentified man claiming to represent Zepto Customer Care. The caller told Mehra that an item was missing from a parcel intended for him and instructed him to remain on the line.
According to the FIR, the caller asked Mehra to transfer Rs 2 through Google Pay to a designated mobile number. Shortly afterwards, Mehra discovered that Rs 45,000 had been debited from his bank savings account.
Mehra subsequently received a second call from another person claiming to represent Zepto Customer Care. The second caller acknowledged the debit and requested Mehra's bank account details under the pretext of refunding the money. Mehra refused to provide any details and contacted the cyber helpline 1930 that night to report the incident.
Police said the caller kept Mehra engaged on the line and managed to obtain one-time password details. Investigators have contacted the bank involved and requested officials to freeze the recipient account that received the money.
A senior cyber police officer explained that scammers often place victims briefly on hold or merge another line to intercept automated security voice readouts, including voice OTPs generated by UPI platforms, online banking, or Gmail. The officer noted that prolonged calls do not hack phones or install malware, but instead keep victims distracted, prevent them from verifying claims, and manipulate them into compromising their accounts.
