Bhiwandi businessman conned of Rs1 lakh over conference call

A Bhiwandi-based businessman lost Rs 1 lakh after a caller posing as an Reserve Bank of India official inveigled him into parting with his debit card information.

Since the victim did not have the card with him at the time, the caller induced him to share his daughter's contact details, took her on a conference call, and duped the family into sharing the confidential data. Within hours, transactions were made from the victim's bank account.

The complainant, Suresh Shah, 57, is in the business of power-looms. He resides with his family at Gopal Nagar in Bhiwandi.

"Last month, I got a phone call from an unknown mobile number. The caller claimed to be from RBI and told me my debit card had been blocked, and sought my card details to reactivate it," Shah stated in his police complaint.

"When I informed him I did not have my card, he sought a family member's contact. I shared my daughter's number and he made a conference call. to her." Within a few hours, eight transactions toting up to Rs 1 lakh were made from Shah's account, said an officer from Shanti Nagar police station in Bhiwandi.

When Shah made inquiries with his bank, he learnt that had been duped. Shah then approached the police after which a case was registered on Wednesday under Indian Penal Code sections 419 (impersonation) and 420 (cheating), and the Information Technology Act sections 66(C) (punishment for identity theft) and 66(D) (punishment for cheating by personation by using computer resource).