Hyderabad: An engineering college lecturer in Hyderabad lost nearly Rs.3 lakh after cyber fraudsters allegedly trapped him with a fake lifetime free credit card offer.
The victim filed a police complaint after scammers withdrew money from his credit cards by posing as staff members of Punjab National Bank.
According to the complaint, the lecturer received a phone call from a person claiming to be a Punjab National Bank employee. The caller offered him a lifetime free credit card, and the lecturer agreed to proceed.
The fraudster then sent a link through a message and asked the victim to provide details. After clicking the link, the lecturer was connected to a video call. During the call, the fraudster asked him to display his PAN card and existing credit cards.
The victim showed details of his three credit cards during the video call.
Free credit card scam used fake banking app
The caller later claimed the bank could issue the lifetime free credit card and asked the lecturer to download a Punjab National Bank application sent through WhatsApp.
Soon after downloading the application, the lecturer started receiving one-time passwords on his phone. He then suspected fraud and disconnected the video call.
However, by that time, Rs.1,89,822 had already been withdrawn from his Bank of Baroda
credit card.
The victim stated in his complaint that he immediately contacted the Bank of Baroda customer helpline. However, he did not receive a response in time.
Free credit card scam drains multiple accounts
Within minutes, fraudsters allegedly withdrew money from his two other credit cards as well. The total loss reached nearly Rs.3 lakh.
Police began examining the complaint and the method used by the cyber fraudsters. Officials warned people against sharing sensitive financial information during phone or video calls.
Cyber crime experts advised the public not to click on suspicious links or download unknown applications sent through messaging platforms.