Wife of COVID-19 victim from Chennai duped by cyber fraudster, cops trying to retrieve money
CHENNAI: A family which recently lost its breadwinner to COVID-19 has now lost Rs 49,999 to a cyber fraudster who posed as a bank manager over the phone.
Viswanathan of Choolai died of COVID-19 recently and his wife Kanniyammal had submitted a request to transfer his bank account to her.
On Saturday, she received a call and the person on the other end allegedly claimed he had called her to verify the bank credentials. Under the pretext of verifying the account details, the caller asked Kanniyammal to share credentials of the bank account including the OTP sent to her mobile phone. Using her bank account details, the person made an online purchase for Rs. 49,999.
Upon realising that she had been cheated, Kanniyammal approached the cyber cell of Kilpauk police district. Police have made efforts to retrieve the lost money. However, they are wary since the 24-hour golden period is already over. "We are trying our best to retrieve the sum," said an officer. But the Kilpauk cyber cell managed to retrieve the money lost in two other cases.
Thirunavukkarasu of Kilpauk who lost Rs 49,990 to fraudsters posing as bank staff on October 1 immediately approached the cyber cell of the Kilpauk police. They managed to retrieve the entire sum back to the victim's account. Similarly, S Praveenkumar (30) of Kilpauk who lost Rs 17,000 also got his money back with the efforts of the cyber cell.
Police officers said lack of awareness on managing bank accounts is leading to cyber fraud. “Many people are still not aware that they must not share the OTPs despite efforts by banks. When fraudsters threaten the victims that their bank accounts would be closed or that they can no longer withdraw money if they don't share the credentials, even the educated end up sharing the details," the officer added.