GST Superintendent duped of around Rs 2 lakh by cyber fraudster

A superintendent with the central government’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) department in Mumbai was duped of Rs. 1.91 lakh by a fraudster posing as a bank employee. The victim was asked to update his bank account’s Know-Your-Customer (KYC) information.

Srikumar Prasad (50), has filed a first information report (FIR) at Antop Hill police station about the scam, charged that he was asked to download a quick support application on his mobile phone and to fill his credit and debit card details in it, leading to a loss of Rs 1.91 lakh in a series of seven-eight fraudulent transactions.

Prasad, who lives in the CGS colony in Antop Hill area along with his wife and two children, received a message from an unknown number at around 9:30 am on Sunday, stating that his bank account’s KYC update is pending.

He was told that if he did not update the KYC information, then he would not be able to make transactions from his debit and credit cards.

The message also stated that he had to call or send an SMS (short message service) on the given number to complete the KYC verification procedure.

Prasad followed the instructions and called on the number, but no one answered his call, said a police officer.

“The fraudster explained the KYC update process and asked Prasad to download an application, quick support, from the Google play store, and to fill his credit and debit card details in it. Prasad downloaded the application and punched in all the details in the app, said an officer from Antop Hill police station.

Soon, he received an OTP (one-time-password) number on his mobile phone that he shared with the fraudster, who siphoned off Rs. 1.91 lakh from his bank account,” said the official.

Prasad received a call from his bank, alerting him about the fraudulent transactions.

Later, he blocked his bank account and filed a complaint with Antop Hill police station following which a case was registered under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, for cheating.

“We have been appealing to the public to never share their confidential bank details with anyone, even if someone claims to be a bank employee. The KYC update is not permitted on the mobile phone and even bank employees are not permitted to ask any personal details related to a customer’s account,” the official added.