After three victims of online cheating in Mysuru got their money back earlier this month, the Mysuru City Police claimed that the sleuths from the Cyber Economics and Narcotics crime (CEN) police station cracked five more instances of online cheating and helped five complainants get their money back.
Acting swiftly on the complaints, the Quick Response Team of the CEN police station in Mysuru got in touch with the managers, nodal officers and legal team member of the banks to which the money had been transferred fraudulently. The accounts of the accused were immediately frozen and action was taken to return the money to the accounts of the victims, police said on February 21.
The five victims had together been defrauded of a total of ₹4,73,056. Complainant Dr. Venkatasubbaiah, a resident of Sharadadevi Nagar, had transferred ₹1,93,056 through his credit card to the account of an accused; Vanishree, a resident of Agrahara, had paid ₹50,000 to an accused through an online payment app; Bopaiah, a resident of Vijayangar in Mysuru, had transferred ₹30,000 to the account of an accused through online banking; while Vinoda Bai, a resident of Kuvempunagar, had made an online bank transfer of ₹1,00,000 to an accused.
Another complainant, Dr. Rajeshwari, a resident of Metagalli in Mysuru, had lost ₹1,00,000 after a fraudster stole her personal banking details under the pretext of a KYC update.
The investigation was carried out by Inspector Jayakumar of CEN police station and his team under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Mysuru (Law and Order) Pradeep Gunti.
The Mysuru City Police, which has managed to help the five victims get their money back, has asked the general public to be wary of messages they receive on their mobile phones with a link for updating their PAN card and KYC. Victims falling prey to this modus operandi help fraudsters access all their banking details, the police warned.
The police has cautioned the general public against fraudsters, who cheat people online in the name of registration and verification for jobs, collect money citing customs duty and GST for gifts from foreign locations and locally. The public was cautioned against online loan offers and girls making obscene video calls on WhatsApp and Instagram before recording the victims and blackmailing them.
The police has referred to another modus operandi of fraudsters who cheat the general public on OLX and other online marketplace apps, posing as army personnel. The public have also been cautioned against installing apps like Anydesk and Quick Support on the request of unidentified persons, who can later access the banking details of the customer.
Police Commissioner Chandragupta, who has appreciated the police action, has appealed to the general public in Mysuru to get in touch with the CEN police station if they are cheated by online fraudsters. They can contact the police station on 0821-2418598, National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP), or toll free number 155260.
