A man was duped of more than Rs 8 lakh after he received a call from a person who told him that he was from the bank where he held an account in February, police said.
Prasun Majumdar, in his late 40s, ran an Internet search on ways to increase the limit of payments he can make through cheque. He had noted down a number that had cropped up during the search, a senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said.
According to the officer, Majumder had called the number and the call went unanswered. Seconds later, he received a call on his cellphone where the caller identified himself as a bank official.
“The caller then asked for details of his bank account and debit card, including the CVV code. He told Majumdar that all these details were required to increase the limit of his cheques,” the officer added.
Convinced that the man was calling from the bank where he has account, Majumdar not only gave out these details but also sent him the OTPs received on his registered number.
Majumdar later realised that more than Rs 8 lakh had been siphoned off from his bank account. He lodged a complaint with cyber crime police station in Salt Lake.
The police said they traced the money to a bank account.
They froze the account and recovered around Rs 1.93 lakh of the money that Majumdar lost, the police said.
A senior officer of Bidhannagar commissionerate said cyber crime had over the years emerged as one of the biggest problems. The fraudsters try to take advantage of the physical distance from the potential victim, the officer said.
The cops receive regular complaints from people whose accounts are emptied by fraudsters claiming to be bank officials, insurance agents or telecom company representatives.
The Bidhannagar commissionerate has a 24X7 helpline — 9038 333 444 — where one can report any alleged cybercrime and seek help.
Kolkata police, too, have a helpline — 8585063104 — to report cybercrimes.
