Doctor falls prey to online fraud in Karnataka, loses Rs 16.50 lakh

Mangaluru: A 69-year-old doctor from Bolwar in Puttur who lost Rs 16.50 lakh became the latest victim of a well-organised cyber crime.

In a complaint, Dr Chidambar Adiga said that he had received a call from an unknown number on March 28. The caller introduced himself as a police from Delhi and informed the complainant that an arrest warrant had been issued against him by a Delhi CBI court in connection with a case related to drug-related offense, money laundering, and human trafficking.

The caller asked the complainant to either appear before the Delhi CBI court in person or appear in an online court hearing. If he chose the latter option of online appearance, the complainant had to transfer money from his bank account to an account number provided by the caller.

The caller said that the transferred amount would be returned to him after the court case.

The caller also shared documents related to the case filed against him on the complainant’s WhatsApp number.

Falling prey to the scam, the complainant transferred Rs 16.50 lakh via RTGS to the account provided by the caller.

Later, the caller contacted the complainant again, and demanded additional money. Suspecting something fishy, the complainant disclosed it to a friend and realised that he had been duped and decided to file a complaint.

A case in this regard has been registered under IPC sections 406, 419, 420, and Sections 66(C), 66(D) of the IT Act.