A retired judge got duped of Rs 1.67 lakh after he sent sweets and clothes to his granddaughter in the United States through a private courier service.
The 70-year-old man, a resident of Bavdhan Khurd, lodged a first information report (FIR) in this case at the Hinjewadi police station Wednesday. The police said the complainant is a retired judge and his son currently resides in New Jersey in the US. A few days back, the complainant had sent new clothes and sweets for his granddaughter through a private courier service. He had mentioned his son’s address on the courier.
Later, on March 3, he got a call on his mobile phone from an online fraudster, who claimed to be a courier service staffer. The person told the complainant that the address mentioned on his courier is wrong. The fraudster then messaged a link to the complainant asking him to submit his bank details for making a payment of only Rs 5 through an online transaction as charges towards correcting the address on his courier.
However, after the complainant opened the link and submitted the information, an amount of Rs 1,67,997 was transferred from his bank account through online transactions without his consent. The money was transferred to some fraudulent bank accounts between March 3 and March 5.
“An FIR has been lodged and the probe is on. The fraudsters have been booked under Sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act,” said police sub-inspector Tukaram Khadke.