Ex-Deputy Commissioner Customs befooled; Rs 1.74 lakh drawn from his account

By statetimes_editor Last updated Jun 12, 2023

Caller asked him to pay Rs 20 for opening electricity bill account

STATE TIMES NEWS

KATHUA: This time the cyber fraudsters even befooled an ex- Deputy Commissioner Customs by using a new trick by asking him to send Rs 20 through M-Pay for opening online account for depositing electricity bills in future.
The moment Rs 20 was transferred on a given number, Rs 1.74 lakh was withdrawn by the time Ex-DC Customs Madan Lal Toofan checked balance on J&K Bank’s M-Pay account on his mobile.
“In two minutes, Rs 1.74 lakh was withdrawn by an unknown person from J&K Bank Kathua account number 0382040100002821 of former Deputy Commissioner Mohan Lal Toofan, resident of 15/151, Patel Nagar Kathua,” states a complaint lodged by Toofan with the J&K Police’s Cyber Cell.
Soon after the drawl, Toofan immediately approached his bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Patel Nagar Branch, Kathua. The bank stated that the money has been transferred from your phone.
On June 1, Toofan he received SMS message from Mobile 09493925549 claiming to be an official of PDD that his electricity will be disconnected if he fails to make payment of the bill online. At the same moment, he received another call from mobile number 07029955439 asking him to deposit Rs 20 online using his M-Pay, which he did. After some time when he checked his account balance, and was shocked to see that Rs 1.74 lakh has been withdrawn from his account.
The Cyber Police has ascertained the caller from Madhya Pradesh and detected the bank account used to transfer the money from Ex-DC Customs’ account. The Cyber Police has always sounded alert to the mobile phone users in general to be extra vigilant and alert while receiving messages and calls from unknown numbers.
The cyber criminals are devising the news methods to cheat the public. This time they have been succeeded in befooling an officer of the rank of Deputy Commissioner Customs, who are trained to catch international level cheaters, fraudsters and narco smugglers.