Pawan Kumar Soni, a farmer from Sri Ganganagar City in Rajasthan, lost more than Rs. 8 lakh from his bank account in a cyber fraud. This happened after his 26-year-old son, Harsh Vardhan, clicked on a phishing message that appeared on his phone.
The message claimed that his bank account had been blocked and asked him to update his KYC details. When Harsh clicked on the link, another duplicate app was downloaded onto his phone. He then entered his user ID and password, which allowed cyber fraudsters to access his father's account and withdraw more than ₹ 8 lakh in four different transactions within minutes.
The money that was stolen from the account was a loan that Pawan Kumar Soni had taken under the Kisan Credit Card Scheme for farming purposes. After realizing what had happened, Harsh Vardhan contacted his father, who quickly went to the bank to inform the manager. In addition, Harsh went to the District Cyber Cell in Dwarka and was instructed to file a complaint online and visit the office on a working day.
The bank manager, at the request of Soni, immediately contacted the local cyber cell and sent an email to financial institutions to block the accounts where the money had been transferred. The bank manager informed Soni that the money had been transferred to three different accounts: ₹ 5 lakh and 1.24 lakh to PayU, 1,54,899 to CCAvenue, and the remaining ₹ 25,000 to Axis Bank. Both PayU and CCAvenue are digital payment companies that act as a bridge between customers and businesses by collecting payments from buyers when they make online purchases and delivering these to the merchants' bank accounts.
According to Soni, PayU responded to the email and withheld the money, but said that if it did not receive an email from the cybercrime department within two days to reverse the amount, it would release the money into the merchant's account. CC-Avenue also responded to cyber officials and provided all necessary information on the day the fraud was detected.
Harsh Vardhan made an online complaint and attempted to file an FIR two days later, but was initially denied. He eventually met with the additional DCP, who directed the SHO to file an FIR.
Experts recommend being cautious when clicking on links or opening messages from unknown sources, as well as keeping personal and financial information secure. Additionally, reporting incidents to the appropriate authorities as soon as possible can help to recover stolen funds and prevent further damage.
