A 47-year-old Bhayandar based electric accessories trader and his family members have became the latest victims of a phishing scam.
Online fraudsters hacked into their e-wallet accounts and siphoned of more than Rs. 1.67 lakh under the guise of completing the Know Your Customer (KYC) process. In his complaint to the Bhayandar police, the trader stated that he had received a text message on his mobile phone from an unidentified number informing about incomplete KYC which would lead to transaction blocking of his account with popular e-commerce payment system-Paytm.
Without verifying the credentials of the source of the message, the man had contacted the caller who asked him to complete the mandated KYC process in order to continue using services. After a brief conversation, the fake caller sent multiple links and asked him to fill the KYC form to complete the process. After clicking the links, the complainant got the shock of his life as Rs. 1,67,729 was immediately siphoned via multiple transactions from three bank accounts (including that of his mother and minor son) which were linked with the mobile wallet
After receiving numerous such complaints, Paytm had earlier requested users to exercise caution and not fall for fake calls and scam messages from fraudsters seeking KYC under the guise of beingcompany officials.
A case under section 420 of the IPC and relevant sections of the Information Technology (Amended) Act, 2008 has been registered against the unidentified fraudsters.
Further investigations were underway.