Mumbai Doctor Swindled Of Rs 1.40 Lakh In Online Scam: How To Shield Yourself

A 27-year-old doctor was duped of Rs 1.40 lakh after he tried to order 25 plates of samosas online from a popular eatery in Mumbai’s Sion. The doctor and his colleagues planned a picnic at suburban Karjat and decided to order samosas for the journey. The doctor, who is employed at the civic-run KEM Hospital, located an eatery called Gurukripa online and decided to place his order from there. However, what he was unaware of was the fact the fraudsters had changed the contact number of the restaurant online. As a result, the doctor ended up calling the cyber criminals instead of hotel employees.

The incident took place on July 8 between 8:30 am and 10:30 am, said officials, as reported by PTI. When the doctor called the number provided, the fraudster asked him to pay Rs 1,500 as an advance for the order. He was sent a link on WhatsApp, which claimed to have the confirmation of the order. It also had the bank account number where he was asked to send money online.

After the payment was made, the fraudsters told the doctor that he hadn’t yet received the money and asked the doctor to send the transaction ID of the payment. The fraudster asked the doctor to type 28807 on Google Pay to initiate the payment, Indian Express reported.

Through this process, the doctor initially lost Rs 28,807, and later, the total amount went up to Rs 1.40 lakh. After realising that he had fallen prey to cyber criminals, the doctor approached the Bhoiwada Police Station to file a complaint. The case against unidentified fraudsters has been filed, reported PTI.

Such online scams are not new but in this digital age, they have been rising at a rapid rate. There have been recent instances where the imposters have posed as PG brokers, bank employees, and even customs officials to dupe people. These fraudsters seek your bank account details and siphon off money for personal gains. As these cases continue to surge, it is crucial for you to exercise some caution to keep your money safe.

Here are a few things to keep in mind before ordering anything online:

Be aware of online scams: It is important that you are aware of online scams. Recently, a woman was duped of lakhs by a man she met at a matrimonial site. You should educate yourself by learning from other people's mistakes.

Don’t give bank account details on phone: Fraudsters often call posing as bank employees asking you for your bank account details. You should not give your bank account details to anyone unless you are entirely sure and have met them before in person. A lot of banks now send cautionary messages about not sharing your account details or OTP with anyone.

Verify authenticity: Always cross-check the credibility and authenticity of the websites you are shopping or ordering from. Check the email address, reviews and ratings.