A woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah district lost Rs 99,518 from her bank account after falling victim to a cyber fraud scheme while attempting to process a refund for a saree purchased online. Akanksha, a resident of Basaiyahar village, had ordered the item worth Rs 674 from the e-commerce platform Flipkart. Dissatisfied with the product, she initiated a return and submitted a refund request. Reports indicate she waited seven days for the money to be credited to her account. When the funds failed to arrive, she contacted a telephone number associated with the order on Saturday to check on the pending payment.
Screen-Sharing Request Led to Account Takeover
During the phone call, the individual on the line instructed Akanksha to share her mobile screen and open a gift card sent to her device. By following these instructions, she inadvertently granted the caller remote access to her smartphone. The fraudster subsequently used this control to initiate multiple unauthorised financial withdrawals directly from her bank balance.
Five Unauthorised Transfers Wiped Out Account
The illicit withdrawals were carried out in quick succession across five distinct transactions. The caller first removed two instalments of Rs 10,000 each. A third transfer deducted Rs 19,999, followed by a significantly larger withdrawal of Rs 55,000. A final transaction of Rs 4,495 cleared the remaining balance, bringing the total stolen amount to Rs 99,518. Akanksha remained in contact with the fraudster between 11 am and 2 pm, discovering the loss only when she reviewed her account balance later that evening. She immediately alerted her father, but the local bank branch was already closed when they arrived. The missing money had been saved by the family to pay for her upcoming marriage and the installation of a household water pump.
Police Await Formal Complaint to Begin Probe
The affected family has demanded the immediate recovery of their stolen savings and strict action against the perpetrators of the fraud. Lavedi police station in-charge Gaurav Kumar stated to News18 Hindi that the family had not yet submitted an official complaint regarding the matter. He added that law enforcement would initiate an investigation under the applicable cybercrime legal provisions as soon as a formal written report is filed.
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