Online shopping has become a part of our daily lives. However, this convenience can sometimes lead to unexpected dangers.
A recent incident in Pune serves as a stark reminder of the growing threat posed by online scams, leaving a 71-year-old man deeply affected after attempting to return a defective phone charger.
The retired Pune citizen bought a phone charger from a popular e-commerce website for around Rs 800. Unfortunately, after a short period, the charger stopped working. Wanting to either return the charger or receive a replacement, he searched for customer care contact details. In his quest, he stumbled upon a phone number online and decided to call it.
Initially, he spoke with a person who listened to his complaint and assured him that he would get a follow-up call for verification. Soon after, he received another call from someone claiming to be part of customer service. The caller informed him that to process his request, he needed to pay a small service charge of Rs 2. To complete this payment, the caller sent him a link through a messaging app.
Things took a turn for the worse when the caller requested the senior citizen to share a code he had received via text. Then the caller claimed there was an error in the transaction and insisted he share the code multiple times. Trusting the caller, he followed the instructions without hesitation. It wasn’t long before he received a call from his bank, warning him that they were freezing his online banking due to suspicious activities linked to his account.
In total, the victim lost Rs 5.36 lakhs in over six transactions before realising he had fallen victim to a scam. He promptly reported the incident to the cyber police, who registered a formal complaint at the Parvati police station.
