FPJ Cyber Secure: Bank Employee Loses ₹1.81 Lakh Without Sharing OTP

Mumbai: A woman, who works as a deputy manager in a multinational bank, lost Rs1.81 lakh to a cyber fraudster who posed as an employee of the same organisation. Notably, the aggrieved was cheated despite exercising caution and not sharing THE one-time password (OTP) with the con.

How the banker was duped

In her police complaint, the Santacruz resident said that she received a call on Tuesday afternoon when she had gone to the Phoenix Market City in Kurla for personal work. The caller introduced himself as a manager working in some other branch of the same bank. Subsequently, he started inquiring about her credit card and told her that she would have to pay an extra charge for exceeding the credit limit. 

“He asked for my credit limit and I told him it was Rs1.9 lakh. He then asked me to click on a link he sent me on WhatsApp. Upon visiting the link, a mobile application got downloaded on my phone. He then told me to enter my card details, after which I received an OTP but I didn't share that with the caller,” said the woman in her police statement. However, she later received a couple of messages, informing two transactions amounting to Rs99,500 and Rs82,000 have been made from her card. 

The aggrieved immediately got her card blocked and then approached the Ghatkopar police. A case has been registered against unknown persons under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to cheating as well as Information Technology Act.