Bank Reward Redemption Scam: Bhopal Policeman Loses Rs 1.80 Lakh in Cyber Fraud

A Bhopal police officer posted at CM House lost Rs 1.80 lakh to a cyber fraudster posing as an Axis Bank official over fake reward points.

A policeman posted at the Chief Minister's residence in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, was cheated out of Rs 1.80 lakh by a fraudster who pretended to be an Axis Bank official and tricked him into clicking a fake link under the pretext of redeeming credit card reward points.

The victim, 41-year-old Rajiv Singh Parihar, a resident of Anshul Vihar Colony, filed a complaint stating that on the evening of June 18, around 6 PM, while he was on duty, he received a phone call. The caller identified himself as an Axis Bank officer and told Rajiv that he had 10,000 reward points accumulated on his credit card that would expire within two days if not redeemed.

The caller then sent a link. When Rajiv opened it and entered his mobile number and name, an OTP arrived on his phone and was automatically read by the system. Within moments, he received a message that Rs 1.80 lakh had been deducted from his account. Realising he had been defrauded, Rajiv immediately called the bank's customer care number to block all his cards and filed a complaint on the national cyber helpline number 1930. Police are now investigating the case using the mobile number and link provided by the fraudster.

In a second incident, Ramdas More, 33, a resident of C Sector in the Govindpura police station area, lost Rs 2,46,131 to fraudsters who lured him with online tasks. More, who works from home for a private company, had connected with an online company and started doing their assigned tasks, gradually investing money. When he tried to withdraw his funds, he was unable to do so. Police are tracing the mobile number and bank account involved.

In a third case, a petrol pump supervisor named Superior Singh Dhakad from Adarsh Colony was defrauded of Rs 6,30,000 by his own relative, Nandkishore Chandravanshi, along with two associates named Shoaib Lala and Govind Uike. The accused had visited Dhakad in April and convinced him that if he gave them money in Rs 500 notes, they would return the equivalent amount in Rs 100 notes plus an extra Rs 20,000 profit. Dhakad fell for the scheme and handed over his entire savings of Rs 6.30 lakh. Sukhisewaniya police have registered a case and begun an investigation.