Pathankot retired IAF officer loses ₹7.4 lakh to hacker

He fell into the trap of an online hacker and followed his instructions to recharge his Paytm account

Pathankot A retired warrant officer from the Indian Air Force (IAF), Onkar Singh, was duped of ₹7.4 lakh from his State Bank of India (SBI) savings account on December 19, after he fell into the trap of an online hacker and followed his instructions to recharge his Paytm account, police have said.

The exact mechanism of the fraud is not clear, but Onkar from Manwal Bagh village in Pathankot told HT that he received a message from Paytm, saying him that his account had been closed and to revive it, he needed to call at a phone number, 9851967090.

“Upon calling at the said number, a man claiming to be Shakeel Ahmed, speaking from West Bengal, said that he would help me with my application. He told me to deposit ₹3 in his Paytm wallet from my savings account. I did this. Within a few minutes, however, I received a message that ₹5.06 lakh had been transferred from my savings account to the hacker’s account,” he told HT.

He claimed that not only this, his fixed deposit of ₹5.16 lakh in the bank was also transferred to his savings account. From there, another ₹45,000, ₹49,000, ₹10,000, ₹9,999, ₹5,000, ₹1 lakh and ₹1.45 lakh were transferred out to the hacker’s account till the bank stopped transactions from his account, after he sent his son to the bank to lodge a complaint.

“I have lodged a complaint with the office of the Pathankot SSP, the RBI and Paytm with the details. A case has been lodged at the Shahpur Kandi police station, where I have submitted documentary proof. Police must help me get my money back, catch these criminals and hand them exemplary punishment,” said Onkar.

SP (investigation) Prabhjot Singh Virk said the cyber crime cell was investigating the case that has been registered under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 66-A of the Information Technology Act.

“We are taking help from the police in other states too,” the SP added.