NOIDA: A 60-year-old retired NPCIL employee lost ₹12.30 lakh after cybercriminals tricked him into clicking a malicious link under the guise of a pending ₹12 Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) bill. The incident occurred on July 11 in Noida Sector 74 and is currently under investigation by the cybercrime branch.
According to police, the victim, Brij Bhusan Prasad, lives with his family in a high-rise society and received a phone call alerting him to a nominal pending IGL bill. Following the call, the caller sent a WhatsApp link urging him to settle the bill immediately. When Prasad clicked the link and followed the instructions, his phone was compromised.
“The victim’s screen display froze, preventing him from ending the call. During that time, the accused diverted his calls and messages and accessed his bank and credit card details,” said Ranjeet Singh, Station House Officer, cybercrime branch.
The fraud was only discovered two days later when Prasad received a message from his bank detailing multiple unauthorised transactions from both his savings account and credit card, totalling ₹12.30 lakh.
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A case has been registered under Sections 318 (cheating) and 319 (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act. SHO Singh said efforts are ongoing to trace the accused and recover the siphoned amount.
Officials from Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), while responding to the incident, said they have been actively warning customers about fraudulent activities through WhatsApp and social media campaigns.
“Many people are misled into believing their connection will be cut off due to unpaid bills. We have repeatedly clarified that IGL communicates only through official platforms,” an IGL spokesperson said on the condition of anonymity.
Police have reiterated the importance of verifying any links received via social media or messaging apps, especially those involving utility payments.