Mumbai Crime: Conman fools senior citizen into giving him her bank OTP 10 times

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"Don't worry, you will get your money back." This is what a cyber-fraudster told a 74-year-old Khar resident every time he asked for her OTP (one time password) and siphoned money from her bank account. The senior citizen was duped into giving her OTP 10 times, and ended up losing Rs 1.28 lakh.

The elderly victim was alone at home in Khar West when the incident took place on July 7. The conman called her, posing as a bank executive. He claimed that her ATM card was about to expire and he could help her renew it. The unsuspecting woman shared her 16-digit card number and other details, including the confidential OTP.

Each time, she received a message that money had been deducted from her account. But when she questioned the fraudster, he said it was part of the process and her money was safe. She also kept her daughter's call waiting, as the man had advised her not to disconnect his call during the card renewal process.

An FIR was registered at the Khar police station on July 12, under Section 420 (cheating) and 66D (impersonation) of the IPC. Sanjay More, senior police inspector, said, "We are investigating." The cops have so far found that most of the transactions were at shopping portals or at payment gateways to pay bills.

Don't get conned
' Banks never call and ask customers for the card number, CVV, or OTP
' Never give your account number to strangers on the phone
' Install security software on your electronic devices
' Always check your credit and debit card statements
' Notify the bank of any address change

Also read: Mumbai Crime: Conman cheats Jain temple trust of Rs 48,000

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