BHUBANESWAR: The next time you browse through the internet for the customer care or helpline of a company, make sure you do not land up in a cyber criminal’s net. A city-based software engineer lost `99,000 to cyber fraud while trying to recharge her DTH connection using an ecommerce payment system a week back. A resident of Housing Board Colony in Chandrasekharpur, she was defrauded while attempting to make the DTH payment of `280 through her Paytm wallet. Although she made the online payment on December 14 and the amount was deducted from her account, the money was not transferred to the DTH service provider.
When the victim contacted the DTH customer care executive, the latter advised the former to wait for a day. However, when the DTH account was not charged even after 24 hours, the girl tried to contact the Paytm helpline to inquire about the transaction. She searched for the Paytm customer care helpline number on the internet and found a number.
When she dialed the number, the receiver told her that the money might not have been transferred due to technical errors and would be refunded to her bank account that is linked with Paytm. He then asked her to share details of her bank account and Unified Payment Interface (UPI) id and follow some procedures but while doing so, `99,000 was deducted from her bank account in two back to back UPI transactions. Realising the fraud, she contacted the bank authorities to block her account but by then, the money had already been debited.
The victim lodged a complaint with Chandrasekharpur police in this regard on December 15 and finding out the verified helpline number, she also informed the Paytm officials about the fraud. The officials informed her that she had collected a fake helpline number from an unverified internet platform and fell into the trap by providing the crucial details of her bank and UPI account to the fraudster.
An FIR has been lodged at Chandrasekharpur police station and police have also contacted the Paytm officials for more details. She has also lodged a complaint in this regard at Cyber Crime police station in Cuttack. Though the fraudster’s mobile phone is still on, police have not been able to trace and arrest him, said the victim’s father Bairagi Charan Rout. Employed with a private firm, the girl had saved her entire salary amount since March in the account that is linked with Paytm.