Man Scammed Out of Rs.14 Lakh by Cyber Fraudsters

Police in Maharashtra's Panvel town has arrested a Delhi-based man who allegedly duped a local resident of Rs 14.2 lakh by impersonating a bank official and offering a personal loan. Arrest accused Ashik Ali alias Arif Allanur alias Pappu Khan (32) was suspected to be part of a sophisticated racket that targeted private bank customers, and three more persons were wanted in the case, said a police official of the Panvel cyber cell on Tuesday.

The racket was involved in cases of cyber fraud in Chhattisgarh and Telangana too, the official said. The accused gained the victim's trust by sending him a counterfeit ID card of a bank official through WhatsApp, and offered him personal loan. They then hacked his net banking account, duping him of Rs 14,20,000, the official said.

Khan was booked under Indian Penal Code sections (as the offence took place before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita came into force) including 467 (forgery), 420 (cheating) and 170 (impersonating a public servant) as well as the Information Technology Act.

The Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate in a release urged the people to stay vigilant against unsolicited calls or messages claiming to be from banks, and never share OTPs or personal information without verifying the source.