BENGALURU: A 37-year-old woman fell prey to online fraud when she tried to order a cake from a reputed bakery. The woman, an employee with a private firm, had tried to order cake from what she thought was Glen’s Bakehouse on Lavelle Road for her daughter’s birthday and ended up losing Rs 71,500 due to phishing.
In her complaint to the Cubbon Park police, Sunaina (name changed on request), a resident of Cottonpet Main Road, stated that when she tried to book a cake, she got a phone call with the caller introducing himself as a staffer of Glen’s Bakehouse. He then sought her debit card details and also got her One Time Password (OTP). Following this, Rs 71,500 was transferred from her account.
Sunaina told TNIE that on November 29, she searched online for Glen’s bakehouse and found an address and phone number. "I called on the number, but it didn’t ring. However, within a minute I got a call from an unknown number and the caller introduced himself as a staffer of Glen’s Bakehouse and told me that I tried to reach them," she said.
Since he was right that Sunaina tried reaching them, she told him that she wanted to order a cake. He then told her that he cannot process the order and ask his staff to prepare the cake without receiving payment. He also said that a lot of people book cakes and don’t take it. So, they prepare it only after payment, she said.
Sunaina agreed to make the payment, gave the caller her debit card details and the OTP. "Soon I got a message on my mobile number saying that Rs 71,500 has been deducted from my account," she said.
When she called back the same number the phone was switched off. “The main thing was that the information about Glen’s Bakehouse posted is completely false. There is no such outlet on Lavelle Road which I realised when I went in search of the mentioned address,” Sunaina said. Cubbon Park police have taken up the case.