Cyber fraud wipes out ₹4.78L from man's bank account

IN yet another case of cyber fraud, a customer in Mangaluru allegedly lost ₹4.78 lakh after his bank account was reportedly compromised.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Mangaluru

FOUR have fallen victim to scams in Udupi. Pratima alleged that she was defrauded of Rs 2.21 lakh through a part-time job scam. On June 6, while browsing Instagram, she came across a link offering a part-time job involving CAPTCHA typing.

As she clicked the link, she was redirected to a WhatsApp contact, where a person claiming to be an HR Assistant with 'Foxbit Exchange Company' informed her that she could earn money by working from home using the Telegram app.

The complainant was initially asked to deposit Rs 1,000 to begin with. She then allegedly transferred Rs 2.21 lakh. On realising that she was defrauded, she called the Cyber Helpline number 1930, following which the accused bank account was frozen. A case was registered at Kundapur police station under sections of the IT Act.

In another incident, Deeksha, a resident of Udupi, lost nearly Rs 1.90 lakh in a similar work-from-home scam.

On May 20, she received a WhatsApp message offering a remote job. Trusting the offer, she transferred Rs 1,000 to a scanner link sent via Telegram. She received Rs 1,475 as an initial return, which led her to invest more.

Over the next two days, from May 20 to 22, she allegedly transferred a total of Rs 1.90 lakh from her own and her parents' bank accounts. However, no further profits came her way, and the initial amount was not returned.