Mumbai: A woman from Mumbai's Malad fell victim to a digital fraud after an unidentified hacker accessed her e-mail account and misused her credit cards to make online purchases worth approximately Rs 6.16 lakh. The Malad Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
Details On The Unique Fraud
The complainant, who works at a private firm in Goregaon, holds credit cards from four different banks. These cards were linked to her personal e-mail ID and mobile number. The incident reportedly unfolded on July 21, 2024, while the woman was at home. She first received an SMS alert about a transaction of Rs 50,900 on one of her cards. Moments later, she was bombarded with notifications for six additional transactions.
In total, seven unauthorised online purchases were made using three of her credit cards, pushing the total fraud amount to Rs 6.16 lakh, as reported by Lokmat Times. Alarmed by the sudden activity, the woman immediately contacted the Malad Police and lodged a formal complaint.
Woman Claims She Didn't Share Credit Card Details With Anyone
According to the report citing the victim woman's statement, she had not shared her credit card information or one-time passwords (OTPs) with anyone. She also confirmed that she had not received any suspicious links or phone calls that could have prompted the breach. Despite this, the hacker managed to gain access to her credit card details and carry out multiple high-value transactions.
Probe Suggests That Victim's E-mail Was Hacked
Preliminary investigations indicate that the cybercriminal hacked into the woman’s e-mail account to retrieve sensitive financial information. It is believed that the e-mail contained data linked to her credit cards, which the hacker then used to facilitate the online purchases.
Police officials confirmed they are currently working on tracking the IP address and other digital footprints left by the fraudster. They are also seeking assistance from the online shopping platforms where the purchases were made in order to gather more evidence and potentially identify the suspect. The investigation is ongoing in the case.
