Mumbai Crime: Bandra woman loses Rs 8.5 lakh over free thali

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Even after a consistent campaign has been launched to create awareness against cyber fraud by various authorities, people continue to get trapped. Recently, a woman from Bandra lost Rs 8.46 lakh as she wanted to avail a one-plus-one-free meal at a popular restaurant chain.

The 57-year-old resident of Hill Road in Bandra saw an advertisement on Wednesday on Facebook offering a thali (meal) for Rs 200 and another thali for free at a restaurant chain. She clicked on the link given below and entered her debit card details. Soon, she received a call from a person named Deepak, who claimed to be calling from the head office of the restaurant and messaged her a link.

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The woman opened the link and once again entered her card details. She was then asked to download a screen-sharing application. It was only the next day when she realised that she was duped after finding several transaction alert messages. When she enquired with the bank, she found that a total Rs 8.46 lakh had been withdrawn from her account in 27 multiple transactions. The Bandra police has registered an offence of cheating under relevant sections of the IPC and Information Technology (IT) Act. The investigation is currently on.