Cyber fraudsters have once again used a fake customer care number and a malicious mobile application to dupe a city resident, this time targeting a 57-year-old employee of the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust.
The victim lost ₹11.55 lakh from his bank account after being tricked into downloading a remote access app.
Following a complaint lodged through the national cybercrime helpline 1930, the Mumbai Cyber Cell has initiated an investigation into the case.
According to the police, the victim, Prashant Vishnu Manerikar (57), was informed by his housing society that his Mahanagar Gas connection needed to be disconnected as his former residence, Vatsala Society, was undergoing redevelopment.
On July 6, Manerikar searched Google for the customer care number of Mahanagar Gas and called the number that appeared in the search results. The person who answered identified himself as a company representative and guided Manerikar through the purported gas disconnection process.
Under the pretext of processing the request, the caller instructed him to change certain settings on his mobile phone, download an application from the Google Play Store, and provide details of his ATM card. The fraudster also claimed that the security deposit for the gas connection would be refunded to his bank account.
The following day, Manerikar began receiving messages related to the SBI YONO banking application, along with a call from a person claiming to be a bank official. Soon afterwards, he started receiving alerts about multiple unauthorised debit transactions from his account.
With the help of his son, Manerikar checked his phone and discovered that the banking application was no longer accessible. He immediately contacted his bank to block the account. However, by then, fraudsters had already transferred ₹11.55 lacs through a series of online transactions.
After approaching the Chunabhatti Police, the victim also registered a complaint with the cybercrime helpline 1930.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the fraudsters gained access to the victim's banking credentials using a remote access application and a fake customer care number.
The Mumbai Cyber Cell is now tracing the mobile numbers, bank accounts, and digital transaction trail to identify and apprehend those involved in the fraud.
