Cyber Fraud (Fraudsters posing as bank officials dupe two people of lakhs in Bhopal — Photo Source: Patrika)

Bhopal: Despite continued efforts by the cyber police, cases of online fraud in Madhya Pradesh show no signs of slowing down. In the state capital, Bhopal, fresh cases of fraud using new tactics are being reported almost daily. In the latest instances, cyber criminals posing as bank officials have targeted two residents, cheating them of a combined total of ₹2,67,555 by luring them with offers related to credit card services and fee waivers. Police at the Katara Hills and Shahjahanabad police stations have registered separate cases of cyber fraud and launched investigations.

Pretext of Stopping International Transactions

The first victim, 39-year-old Dushyant Katiyar, an area head at a private company residing in Katara Hills, received a call from an unknown person on 3 July. The caller claimed to be an employee of ICICI Bank and told Katiyar that an annual charge of ₹995 was about to be levied on his credit card. To help him avoid the charge, the caller suggested disabling international transactions and sent him a link, asking him to download an app onto his mobile phone. As soon as Katiyar opened the link and downloaded the app, he began receiving a stream of OTPs. Within minutes, ₹60,499 was withdrawn from his account, followed swiftly by a further ₹5,050.

Lured by Offer of a New Credit Card

The second case emerged from the Idgah Hills area, under the jurisdiction of Shahjahanabad police station. The victim, 64-year-old Farooq Aziz, told police that on 25 June, a man identifying himself as an official of HDFC Bank called him. The caller offered him a new credit card with additional benefits and, during the course of the conversation, extracted confidential details linked to his existing credit card. Following this, ₹2,02,006 was withdrawn from his account. The Shahjahanabad police have registered a case of cyber fraud in this matter as well and begun their investigation.

Police Appeal to the Public

In light of these incidents, Bhopal police have appealed to the public to avoid clicking on unknown links and never to share OTPs, CVVs, card numbers or other confidential banking information over the phone, warning that doing so could make anyone a victim of such fraud.