BHUBANESWAR: The wife of an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), who is posted in the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), has landed in trouble allegedly because of the cybercriminals.
ASI Bijay Kumar Balahi's wife Banalata Parhi reportedly accepted to avail credit card services after a public sector bank said she can utilize up to Rs 2 lakh for health-related matters in case of an emergency and pay the amount later through her savings account.
Banalata received a telephone call in November last year and the caller impersonated the bank's credit card agent. The caller asked the victim why she was not utilizing the services even 15 days after receiving the credit card.
The victim requested the caller to block her credit card as she was not finding it necessary to avail the services.
However, the caller claimed that Banalata will even have to make a payment if she decides to surrender her credit card and suggested she activate the services.
The caller asked the victim to share the one time password (OTP) sent on her mobile phone to activate the services. When Banalata shared the OTP, she received a message that a transaction of more than Rs 49,000 was carried out using her credit card.
Banalata informed her husband Bijay and he immediately withdrew the cash deposited in her savings account.
The couple reported the matter to the bank and Bhadrak Town police station in November 2021. However, since then the victim has been receiving messages from the bank to clear the outstanding amount along with the interest amounting to over Rs 59,000.
"We did not carry out any transaction using the credit card and the fraud was also reported to the bank. But, the bank officials are asking us to clear the outstanding amount. As the local police were not able to help us, I lodged a complaint at the cyber cell in Bhubaneswar," said Bijay.