Businessman falls prey to cyber fraud, loses Rs2.35 crore
Businessman falls prey to cyber fraud, loses Rs2.35 crore
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Bhubaneswar: Despite the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) and Odisha Police's repeated warnings, a businessman from Keonjhar district fell prey to cyber fraud and was defrauded of Rs 2.35 crore.
According to a complaint filed by 58-year-old Joda businessman Pramod Kumar Rout, Rout was summoned in October 2019 by one AK Walia, who identified himself as a senior officer of the Ministry of Finance (money releasing division) located in Hyderabad.
Rout was chosen to receive Rs 3 crore from the Prime Minister National Relief Fund for his life insurance policy purchased in March 2012, according to Walia. He also delivered a letter from Suresh Mathur of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), demanding that Rout pay dues in the millions of rupees.
Rout dismissed the letter and remained silent about it. After a few days, he began to get calls from various numbers and guys claiming to be officials from the finance ministry and the IRDA. They informed Rout that if he did not pay his dues, his accounts would be frozen.
"Rout agreed to pay the money out of fear. Rout transferred Rs 2.35 crore from November 19, 2019 to February 4, 2021 without validating the identities of unknown callers. Last year, the con artists handed Rout two demand draughts totaling Rs 1.98 crore. "However, they proved out to be fraudulent," an EOW official told the TOI.
When Rout did not receive the promised money after several months, he filed a complaint with the EOW on February 28 detailing the payment of Rs 2.35 crore to the scammers.
It should be remembered that on average, 10 cyber scams were recorded daily in Bhubaneswar in January, with residents losing over Rs 1.39 crore to scammers in February.
