A woman from Bengaluru lost Rs 1.2 crore in a phone scam; how to spot and avoid them

KEY POINTS

The con artist called Lakshmi Shivakumari, the victim, posing as an employee of the Telecom Department.

After that, the con artist said she was involved in illicit activities.

They threatened to arrest her for non-cooperation if she didn't cooperate.
The fact that frauds are now so widespread and affect everyone, especially those who are not as tech-savvy, is really depressing. Because some people lack basic technological knowledge, scammers profit from this and abuse people's confidence.

Another such case has surfaced, in which an elderly Bengaluru resident lost almost Rs 1.2 crore due to an online scam. What happened? Read on for more information.

How did con artists manage to fool this woman?

A seventy-seven-year-old citizen of Bengaluru is the latest victim of a cyber fraud. This caused her to lose almost Rs 1.2 crore. According to The Hindu, the victim, Lakshmi Shivakumari, was called by the con artist.

He identified himself as a Telecom Department official.

After that, the con artist said she was involved in illicit activities. The caller added that this was being done on a SIM card that was issued in her name in Mumbai when she rejected this. He added that she was the subject of a report filed with the Mumbai crime branch. This scared the elderly woman.

After some time, two individuals identifying themselves as Sandeep Rao and Akash Kulhari called her again. They identified themselves as Mumbai Crime Branch officers. These individuals informed Shivakumari that she was a party to a Rs 60 crore money laundering case.

The con artists demanded her information when she refuted any such claims. Her investments, bank accounts, and personal details were all included in this. They threatened to arrest her for non-cooperation if she didn't cooperate. They even displayed to her forged court orders and an FIR from the Supreme Court.

The woman became frightened naturally, so she caved in and transferred Rs 1,28,70,000. She received assurances that the money would be reimbursed upon the conclusion of the investigation. However, that never took place. It was then that she recognised she had been duped.
How can one prevent falling for such scams?
We must adhere to certain safety procedures because these occurrences are becoming increasingly frequent. Prevention is always preferable to cure, as they say.

1. Never divulge personal information, bank account information, etc. over the phone. Make sure these calls are legitimate at all times.

2. Never, ever give your OTPs to a caller. The biggest warning sign is when someone asks for your OTP while posing as someone in a position of authority.

3. Install anti-malware and anti-virus software on your device.

4. Use secure passwords (the best ones are those that don't include your birthdate).

5. Regularly check the activities on your account

Con artists can't take from you if you do this. Be cautious and keep reading our posts for more just like this one.