Army Lieutenant Colonel Loses Rs 1.17 Lakh To Credit Card Payment Fraud

HYDERABAD: A Lieutenant Colonel in the Indian Army stationed in Secunderabad reportedly became the latest victim of cyber fraud, losing Rs 1.17 lakh. The fraudster contacted him, claiming that his credit card payment via an app had failed, and duped him under the guise of assisting him in completing the payment.

Based on his complaint, the Hyderabad Cyber Crime unit opened a case and began an investigation. According to the complaint, the officer received a phone call from an unknown person who identified himself as an employee of a mobile app company that facilitates credit card payments.

The caller asked the officer to log into the app and then sent him an SMS, which allowed the caller to gain access to the officer’s phone.

The officer, however, was in an area with the poor network coverage. Later, he received several SMS messages from the bank informing him that his account balance was low.

He immediately contacted the bank’s customer service department and had the card blocked. It was later discovered that the caller, who had already gained access to the officer’s mobile phone, obtained OTPs to transfer money from his account to another account in New Delhi.

In three transactions, the caller transferred more than Rs 1.17 lakh. Police are suspecting the hand of app company executive behind the scam as he knew his payment and banking details. Police have also advised not to download any suspicious app or any application that can give access of your device to someone else.