Even though cyber police have issued repeated warnings and run awareness campaigns, cybercriminals continue to operate unabated. A 61-year-old retired bank manager, Pankaj Srivastava from Bhopal, was tricked by online fraudsters and lost Rs 57 lakh. In connection with the incident, a case is filed at the Misrod Police Station on Saturday.
How the fraud happened?
Last December, 61-year-old retired bank manager Pankaj Srivastava got a phone number from someone he knew, supposedly for share trading. He called the number, and the person on the phone claimed to be from an online share trading company. They promised very high returns on investment.
Fraudsters asked him to download an app and open two accounts, one to deposit his money and another to show “profits” from investments. At first, the second account showed his balance growing, which made him trust them and invest even more money. This made Srivastava trust them more and invest larger amounts. Over time, Srivastava transferred Rs 57 lakh in several installments. Eventually, both accounts showed zero balance, and the fraudsters disappeared. Srivastava tried calling the mobile numbers he had used before, but they were switched off. Realizing he had been cheated, Srivastava went to the cybercrime police. They registered a zero FIR (a type of first report of a crime) and sent the case to Misrod police station.
The police are now trying to trace the fraudsters using the phone numbers and bank transactions. The officer in charge, Ratanlal Singh Parihar, said the police were working to find the person who cheated him.
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