Doctor falls victim to fake GHMC customer care scam, loses Rs 23,000
Dr. Suma attempted to address a garbage problem in her neighbourhood by contacting the customer care number of the GHMC
By Newsmeter Network Published on 12 May 2023 1:55 PM GMT
Hyderabad: In a cautionary tale for online users, a doctor residing in Madhura Nagar fell victim to a fake customer care scam, losing a significant amount of money. T. Vengamamba Suma, a 32-year-old doctor, found herself at the centre of a distressing incident involving a fraudulent phone call and a subsequent unauthorised financial transaction.
According to sub-inspector Sardar Jamal, Dr. Suma attempted to address a garbage problem in her neighbourhood by contacting the customer care number of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). However, her Google search led her to a deceptive phone number (9641194791), which posed as GHMC’s customer care representative.
The person on the other end of the call claimed to be an official GHMC representative and assured Dr. Suma that they would promptly raise a complaint on her behalf. However, they requested a nominal payment of Rs. 2 as GHMC charges to initiate the process. Trusting the apparent authenticity of the call, Dr. Suma agreed to the payment and was instructed to scan a QR code that was sent to her mobile device.
Trusting the instructions, she proceeded to scan the QR code and entered her UPI ID, expecting to make the nominal payment of Rs. 2. To her shock and dismay, a staggering amount of Rs. 23,000 was debited from her State Bank of India (SBI) account instead.
It quickly became apparent to Dr. Suma that she had fallen victim to a sophisticated fraud scheme. The GHMC customer care number she had contacted turned out to be a scam, designed to trick unsuspecting individuals into revealing their banking details and subsequently siphoning off their funds.
Realising the gravity of the situation, Dr. Suma lodged a complaint at the Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar police station. A case has been registered under sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology (IT) Act. It is currently under investigation.
Sub-inspector Jamal cautioned the public to remain vigilant when dealing with unfamiliar customer care numbers or conducting financial transactions online. He urged individuals to verify the authenticity of such calls through official channels.
