Cyber criminals are now targeting lawyers, posing as 'businessmen' and stealing ₹55,000 from their accounts.
Raipur. In the capital, Raipur, cyber fraudsters posing as businessmen defrauded a lawyer of ₹55,000 online. The accused duped him via WhatsApp and forced him to make a UPI transaction. The incident occurred in the Civil Lines police station area, where police have registered a case and begun an investigation based on the victim's complaint.
According to reports, Vijay Kumar Das, a lawyer by profession, lives with his family in Shankar Nagar Sector-02, near Durga Maidan. He told police that on January 8th, at around 4:15 p.m., he received a WhatsApp message on his mobile phone asking for a transfer of ₹55,000. The sender, claiming to be an acquaintance and a businessman at Navkar Jewellers, told him that his UPI was currently down, so he should send the money temporarily, which would be refunded within two hours.
Trusting him as he was an acquaintance, Vijay Kumar Das transferred Rs 55,000 from his account at Union Bank, Pandri Raipur to the UPI ID given through Phone-Pay.
After sending the money, he sent a screenshot of the payment via WhatsApp, but the message was not delivered. He then contacted Navkar Jewellers' actual mobile number. Shortly after, Navkar Jewellers called, stating that their WhatsApp account had been hacked and that they had not received any money requests. Only then did the lawyer realize he had been duped.
According to the police, fraudsters hacked the WhatsApp account of Navkar Jewellers and sent messages in their name, resulting in an online transaction of ₹55,000. Police have registered a case and are searching for the cyber fraudsters
