Bhubaneswar: A woman lecturer fell victim to cyber fraud, losing around Rs 4 lakh to scammers who posed as customer service representatives for a digital payment platform.
According to reports, Usharani Behera, a resident of Kaptipada in Mayurbhanj and working as a lecturer in a private college in Bhubaneswar as a lecturer, has filed a complaint with Khandagiri police regarding the incident.
The trouble began last month when Usharani encountered issues while recharging her mobile using a digital payment app.
Searching online, she found a customer care number and contacted it, unaware that cybercriminals were impersonating customer service agents.
Following their instructions to resolve her issue, Rs 99,898 was debited from her bank account on October 27.
Concerned, Usharani contacted her bank’s branch manager the following day, requesting an account block and immediate withdrawal access. Instead, she was advised to transfer her Recurring Deposit (RD) funds into a Fixed Deposit (FD) for security.
However, the fraudsters managed to execute further unauthorized transactions, withdrawing an additional Rs 1 lakh on October 29 and Rs 1.91 lakh in two transactions on October 30.
Usharani has urged police to investigate the scam and take necessary action against the perpetrators.
