Fraudsters from Pak call to dupe Indians

Lure people offering a cash prize, get them deposit money

In the last week of November last year, Ms Sudhamani, 26, a staff nurse at the Asian Gastroenterology Institute, received a phone call from an unknown number.

At the other end, a man speaking in Hindi with a Punjabi accent said, “I am Raj Kumar calling from the Mumbai Airtel office. Your mobile number has been selected as the winner in the Airtel lucky draw. You have won `50 lakh as prize money.”

A 10-minute conversation ensued. More calls followed in the next few days, and the caller convinced Ms Sudhamani that to collect the prize money, she would have to pay income-tax, clearance fee and registration fee.

Following his instructions, Ms Sudhamani deposited money in different bank accounts. When there was no sign of the prize money, she then approached the police. Preliminary investigation revealed that the caller was a Pakistani national calling from a number starting with +92.

Ms Sudhamani was not the only one who received calls from these +92 numbers. The attempt to cheat people is always the same: Announce prize money, and keep taking money off those who are gullible enough to fall for the offer. “After the amount is deposited, fraudsters’ agents withdraws the cash and disappears”, said cyber crime inspector K.V.M. Prasad.

According to the police, such fraudulent calls had started in 2014, but have increased after the advent of Reliance Jio which came with several new offers. Some customers believe that other telecom companies would offer prizes in competition, and are easy meat for the fraudsters, another cyber crime inspector said.

Some residents who did not take the +92 calls got messages from those phone numbers asking them to call back if they wanted to claim the prize.

“I got two calls. The first caller spoke like a Punjabi and said I had won `25 lakh. Initially, I believed him. Two days later, I got another call from another man. He said I had won `50 lakh. That’s when I started doubting. When I did an internet search, I understood that it was fake”, said Mr T. Mahesh, an IT employee.

The fraudsters announce prize money and take money from those who fall for their offer. After the amount is deposited, fraudsters’ agents withdraws the cash and disappear. — K.V.M. PRASAD cyber crime inspector