Indore, Madhya Pradesh: A pharmaceutical trader and his wife in Indore have allegedly lost ₹1.08 lakh after contacting a fake customer care number found through Google while trying to cancel a JioHotstar subscription. Police have registered a case and started an investigation into the cyber fraud.
Fake Customer Care Number Found Online
According to the complaint, Nirmal Navlani, a pharmaceutical businessman from Gopal Colony, searched Google on June 4 for a customer care number to cancel his JioHotstar subscription.
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After calling a number that appeared in the search results, the person on the other end allegedly introduced himself as a customer support executive and claimed he would help process the cancellation.
₹5 Verification Payment Followed By Fraud
The accused allegedly asked Navlani to transfer ₹5 through Google Pay as part of a verification process. Soon after the payment was made, the victim’s mobile phone reportedly froze.
When the device was restarted, he began receiving SMS alerts for unauthorised debit transactions. According to the complaint, ₹8,000 and ₹50,000 were withdrawn from Navlani’s Bank of Baroda account.
Later, ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 were allegedly debited from the bank account of his wife, Sharda. The couple suffered a total alleged loss of ₹1.08 lakh.
Police Trace Digital And Banking Trail
After discovering the fraud, Navlani immediately contacted the bank and got both accounts frozen. He then reported the incident to the National Cyber Crime Helpline before submitting a written complaint at Juni Indore Police Station, following which an FIR was registered.
Police are examining bank transactions, suspected beneficiary accounts and digital evidence to trace the flow of funds and identify those involved in the alleged fraud.
Cybercrime expert Prof. Triveni Singh said fraudsters frequently exploit fake customer care numbers displayed in online search results to target unsuspecting users. He advised citizens to obtain customer support numbers only from official websites or mobile apps and avoid making small “verification” payments, sharing screens, downloading unknown apps or clicking suspicious links.
Police said the investigation is continuing and further legal action will be taken based on the evidence collected during the probe.
