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FASTag recharge: Man loses nearly ₹1 lakh in cyber fraud


Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Feb 02, 2023: A person claiming to be the representative of PayTM FASTag allegedly duped a senior citizen of Brahmavara in Udupi by withdrawing ₹99,997 from his bank account through cyber fraud. The person reportedly withdrew the money in five transactions on the pretext of recharging the FASTag of the senior citizen.

 

Fraud


In a complaint filed with the Cyber Economic and Narcotic Crime Station, Udupi, Francis Pius Furtado, a retired accountant of a private firm, said he stopped his car a few metres before the toll gate at Hejamady on January 29 to recharge FASTag as the balance amount was low. He wanted to call the helpline number to ask about the recharge process.

As he was searching for the link to the helpline number on the Internet using his mobile phone, Mr. Furtado received a call by a person claiming to be a representative of PayTM FASTag. The person sent a link of an app and asked Mr. Furtado to download it. Mr. Furtado downloaded the app and entered his vehicle details. He then shared with the caller the OTP he received. Later, an amount of ₹49,000 was deducted first, followed by ₹19,999, ₹19,998, ₹9,999, and ₹1,000 from Mr. Furtado’s bank account.

The CEN police registered Mr. Furtado’s complaint for offences punishable under Sections 66 (C), 66 (D) of Information Technology Act. The police are trying to trace the offender by tracking the accounts to which the money got transferred.


Courtesy: The Hindu