What began as a mistake at the toll gate has changed to financial fraud for a 42 -year -old private employee from Hyderabad, who eventually lost over 2.28 lakh on an online fraudster who acts as a representative of Unified Payments (UPI).
The victim was on his way to Karnataka to participate in the funeral of her mother and book a cabin for 11,000 GBP. After paying 4,000 GBP for fuel, he agreed to pay the remaining 7,000 GBP upon arrival. On the toll gate, however, accidentally scanned the QR code connected to the SBI Fastag NetC, which was intended to pay the driver, but instead it was an unrelated payment.
Alarmed, announced a problem to the Emmiganur branch of Canar Bank, which recognized the complaint and recommended him to contact UPI officials. The victim looking for online assistance found a phone number that claimed it came from the Indian company National Payments Corporation (NPCI). He trusted the resources, called it and did not know that he was part of a complicated fraud.
The man at the other end, claims to be an agent of UPI support, ordered him to file a complaint and promise a quick replacement. To make it easier to refund, the fraudster convinced the victim to transfer the money using PhonePe, claiming that the amount will be returned immediately. Then he was told that the transaction was “suspended” and asked for more money to complete the process.
The stated and desperate earned its money, the victim was followed by other instructions, including the opening of the mobile application of Canara Bank, increasing its credit limit and sharing sensitive ATMs and details of OTP. The fraudster used this information to reward the remaining funds. Despite repeated monitoring and full replacement, the victim did not receive any money. In the end, the fraudster became unattainable.
The victim filed an online complaint on the computer crime portal. The case is subject to investigation.
Published – April 24, 2025 20:40 is
