Man Calls on Fraud UPI Helpline; Cheated of Rs 2.28 Lakh
A 42-year-old man was duped of ₹2.28 lakh after calling a fake UPI helpline number he found online, following a toll payment issue
Hyderabad: A 42-year-old man from the city was cheated of Rs 2.28 lakhs after he called on a fraudulent UPI helpline number that he had found online. The victim lodged a complaint on Thursday with the city's cybercrime police.
The victim lost his mother recently. He booked a taxi to attend the funeral in Karnataka. He would pay the driver Rs 7,000 and pay for the diesel that was to be approximately Rs 4,000. When the car reached a toll gate, the passenger paid using a QR code there.
However, the car was registered for FASTag automatic toll deduction. Since the amount was already deducted from the driver's e-wallet, the passenger decided to call his Canara Bank (Yemmiganur branch) agent to reverse the amount.
The bank asked him to take up the matter with UPI officials. The victim filed an online complaint and searched on Google for "UPI dispute redressal number", ACP city cybercrime R.G. Siva Maruthi said. The number the victim found -- 9163587924 -- was being operated by a criminal, the ACP said.
The victim was first asked to transfer funds to a given account. He was made to believe the funds would be refunded soon. The fraudster instructed the victim not to report this to the police or the bank.
Subsequently, the fraudster claimed the amount sent was "on hold" and kept asking the victim to transfer additional funds. Each time funds were sent, the victim was told the transaction was "on hold".
The fraudster then advised the victim to open his Canara Bank Mobile Banking app to increase his credit limit and transfer money.
Following this, the fraudster asked for the victim's ATM card details and OTP which the victim shared. Within minutes, more funds were deducted. In total, the victim was cheated of Rs 2,28,334 lakhs.