‘Bank exec’ asks man to install app, dupes him of ₹2.89L

I don’t know how did the accused know the name of my bank and that I was repaying my loan. He also had my card details. ROHIDAS BORKAR, Borivli resident

MUMBAI: A Borivli resident was duped of ₹2.89 lakh recently, after a fraudster asked him to install an app on his phone.

On February 6, Borivli resident Rohidas Borkar, 32, received a call from the alleged fraudster.

“A man called me in the afternoon and claimed he was the executive from the bank where I had taken a loan. He enquired about the loan settlement application I had made in December 2018 and said the money which is being debited from my account for the loan repayment is more than what I have to pay. He said he would need my debit card details to correct the error. I refused to give those details, fearing a vishing fraud.”

After Borkar refused to share the debit card details, the fraudster used another modus.

“He then asked me to download an app which will reflect the excessive amount I had been paying to the bank,” Borkar, who works as a driver, told HT.

Borkar did not suspect the authenticity of the app, so he downloaded it. The fraudster then confirmed with Borkar the latter’s and his wife’s card details. Borkar was shocked to learn that the fraudster had their card details. The fraudster had hacked the One Time Passwords (OTPS) from Borkar’s mobile phone through the app and within 90 minutes, made 31 money transactions from the complainant and his wife’s bank accounts.

“I had no idea that the fraudster could access my OTPS using the app. I immediately uninstalled the app, but it was too late by then. I called the bank but it was only an automated voice response,” Borkar added. The fraudster had also gained access to Borkar’s e-mail account.

On the basis of his complaint an FIR has been lodged.

This is the second such incident reported this year. Earlier, in January, a cyber-fraudster had duped a resident using the same modus operandi. The accused had uploaded his mobile number on a website as a customer care number and tricked a man into installing the app on his phone. He then withdrew ₹45,000 after gaining access to his details.