Puttur woman loses Rs 2.92 lakh to cyber fraudsters posing as bank officials

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, May 27, 2026: A 40-year-old woman from Puttur allegedly lost Rs 2.92 lakh to cyber fraudsters after mistaking them for bank officials.

According to a complaint filed at the Surathkal Police Station, the woman had availed a gold loan of Rs 2.94 lakh from a bank branch on Court Road in Puttur on May 22, 2026. She had reportedly instructed the bank to deduct a monthly EMI of Rs 6,000 from June onwards. However, Rs 6,000 was allegedly debited from her account on the same day the loan was sanctioned.

In an attempt to get the amount refunded, the woman searched online for the bank branch’s contact number and called the branch manager. As the call went unanswered, she disconnected it. Shortly afterwards, she allegedly received a call from an unidentified person claiming to be the branch manager.

The caller reportedly instructed her to click on the “screen start” option, following which Rs 94,000 was allegedly transferred from her account through UPI transactions. During the same call, the fraudster allegedly asked her to open the bank’s mobile application, assuring her that the deducted amount would be refunded.

However, soon after she opened the app, another Rs 1.98 lakh was allegedly debited from her account.

In total, cyber fraudsters allegedly transferred Rs 2.92 lakh from the woman’s account to unknown accounts.