A photographer in Agra became the victim of a staggering cyber fraud when his bank account was hacked, resulting in transactions worth ₹41 lakh. What makes the case even more striking is that he never received a single alert—no message, no call—from his bank while the money was siphoned away.
A Fraud Without Warning
The victim, Ravi Mohan Kandpal, a resident of Shastripuram, works in events and photography. On March 4, 2025, he had opened a current account at the Sanjay Place branch of IDFC First Bank. Days later, on March 13, he received an email linked to his account that hinted at possible tampering. Alarmed, he immediately froze his account by contacting the bank. On the same day, he also blocked his SIM card. By March 15, Kandpal had reactivated the same number with a new SIM. But what followed revealed the scale of the fraud. When he reopened his account a week later, he learned that on April 2 and 3, transactions amounting to ₹41 lakh had been carried out from his account. Shockingly, he had received no SMS notifications, no calls, and no communication of any kind from the bank regarding these high-value transfers.
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A Fight for Accountability
Initially, Kandpal approached the cyber cell and his local police station to lodge a complaint. But when his concerns failed to gain traction, he took the matter to court. He filed a petition explaining that despite his repeated attempts, no formal case had been registered. Acting on the court’s directions, Sikandra police finally lodged an FIR and began an investigation into the fraud.
How the Fraud Unfolded
According to Kandpal’s account, the breach was carefully orchestrated. While his account had been frozen after the suspicious email, fraudsters allegedly gained access to his credentials and executed transactions without any alert reaching him. Even more puzzling is the fact that Kandpal did not know the recipients of the ₹41 lakh transferred from his account. For him, the absence of SMS and call alerts raises serious questions about how the bank’s security systems failed to notify a customer about such massive withdrawals.
A Case That Highlights Growing Risks
Kandpal’s ordeal underscores the growing sophistication of cyber fraud in India, where even professionals outside the digital sphere are increasingly vulnerable. That an event photographer could lose such a vast sum without receiving a single alert highlights gaps in oversight and communication between banks and their customers. With the FIR now registered, the investigation is underway to determine how his personal and banking details were compromised, and whether systemic lapses played a role in the fraud.