Mumbai: A 43-year-old fashion designer from Vile Parle allegedly lost more than Rs2 lakh to a con, who posed as a bank official and fleeced her on the pretext of helping her process her Income Tax (I-T) refund cheque.
According to the FIR lodged on August 11, Ekta Shah said that she has a savings account with Union Bank. On July 31, at noon, she visited the bank's branch in Andheri East and deposited an I-T refund cheque of Rs1,16,510. However, the manager informed her that the server was down hence the transaction couldn't be completed.
Later that day, around 4pm, Shah's chartered accountant reminded her about the tax refund. Worried, she searched the internet for the I-T department helpline number and called it. The call was disconnected, but she soon received a WhatsApp video call from the same number.
The caller, claiming to be an employee of Union Bank, gained Shah's trust by discussing about the cheque deposit. He told her that if the cheque wasn’t cleared, she might face a fine. He offered to process the cheque online and requested her to share her screen.
While keeping her engaged in conversation, he gained access to her phone and withdrew a total of Rs 2.62 lakhs from her Union Bank and Mahindra Bank accounts in a one-hour span. Shah sensed the fraud upon receiving back-to-back messages from the banks about the withdrawals.
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