Indore (Madhya Pradesh):

Indore woman loses ₹2.47 lakh in sophisticated bank fraud scam

An online scammer managed to dupe an official of a finance company of Rs 2.47 lakh in the Malharganj area, police said on Wednesday. The conman, who posed as a bank representative, defrauded the woman on the pretext of closing her credit card account.

Malharganj police station in-charge Vedendra Singh Kushwah informed The Free Press that the woman had received a credit card in January 2026 but decided to close it in April as she did not require the service. She searched for a customer care number on the internet and contacted a number she found online.

On April 14, she received a call from a man claiming to be a bank employee. The suspect gained her trust by sharing her personal and credit card details, which made the call appear legitimate. He then instructed her to download a remote-access mobile application and log in, assuring her that the credit card would be deactivated within 48 hours.

Soon after the call ended, five unauthorised transactions were made using her card details, and a total of Rs 2.47 lakh was deducted. She learned about the fraud through SMS alerts and immediately contacted the bank to block the card before lodging an e-zero FIR.

Kushwah said that since the woman resides within the Malharganj police station limits, they will investigate the case further. Based on the mobile number used by the fraudster, the police are trying to identify the suspect. A specialised team has been constituted to probe the technical footprints of the transactions.

The Modus Operandi * Search Trap: The victim called a fraudulent number found on a search engine. * Social Engineering: The scammer used the victim's own personal data to gain trust. * Remote Access: The victim was convinced to download a third-party app to "assist" in the process. * Swift Drain: Five transactions were executed immediately after the app was installed.

Cyber Safety Tips * Verify Numbers: Always use the official website or the back of your physical card for customer care numbers. * App Safety: Never download screen-sharing or remote-control apps (like AnyDesk or TeamViewer) on the advice of a caller. * Reporting: In case of fraud, call the national cybercrime helpline at 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in.