Bengaluru: A 43-year-old man lost Rs 3 lakh to fraudsters while trying to book a flight ticket recently. Shravan (name changed), a resident of Hosur Main Road and an employee at a private firm abroad, had come to Bengaluru for his mother’s final rites. On July 30-31, he attempted to book a flight online but encountered technical issues.
In his attempt to resolve the problem, Shravan found a contact number online and called it for assistance. The caller claimed to be a representative of the booking firm and asked Shravan to provide his credit card details, CVV number, and PIN to complete the transaction. Following this, approximately Rs 77,000 was debited from his bank account.
When Shravan reported the unauthorized transaction, the fraudster assured him it was a technical error. However, shortly after, Rs 1.5 lakh was debited from his credit card. Despite blocking his bank and credit card accounts, Shravan was contacted by the scammers, who convinced him to provide details of a different credit card for a supposed refund. Subsequently, Rs 78,817 was debited from this new card as well.
Shravan filed a complaint with the Adugodi police on August 1. The fraudsters, reportedly calling from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, continued to pressure him to unblock his accounts. The police have registered a case under the Information Technology Act and are investigating the matter.