Bengaluru Couple Get 'Jai Hind, Jai Indian Army' Call, Lose Rs 2 Lakh

Last Updated:July 14, 2025, 17:01 IST

A freelance trainer from Bengaluru and her husband lost over Rs 2.1 lakh in a scam involving a fake job offer from Army Public School

UPI has released safety advice to help people from falling for this fraud. (Representative Image/Pexels)

It started with a job offer and ended in a costly scam. On July 9, a woman from Bandipalya, Bengaluru, was duped out of more than Rs 2.1 lakh in a slick cyber con that used the name of the Army and played heavily on patriotic emotions to win trust.

Harini (name changed), a freelance trainer, was part of a WhatsApp group that regularly shared job leads from across the country. That day, a message popped up: Army Public School in Bengaluru is hiring a communication and discipline trainer. The message included a phone number. Harini dialed it immediately.

The man who answered claimed to be part of the administrative staff at APS. He sounded professional, explained the role, and said the school would pay Rs 5,000 per hour for a two-hour session. Harini was thrilled. The man assured her someone from the school’s MG Road campus would call her shortly.

Minutes later, a WhatsApp voice call came in. This time, the caller introduced himself as a school representative. He praised Harini’s experience and said the institution was eager to hire her; but first, she’d have to “register as a vendor", as per protocol for military-affiliated institutions.

That’s where the trap began.

The caller asked for her Aadhaar details. Then, he explained that she needed to link her UPI ID and complete an OTP verification to finish the onboarding. Harini followed the instructions and entered both her PIN and OTP.

In seconds, Rs 26,000 vanished from her bank account.

Shocked, Harini questioned the caller. But he didn’t hang up. Instead, he doubled down, sending her a forged military ID to prove his legitimacy. He peppered his conversation with patriotic phrases like “Jai Hind" and “Jai Indian Army". Harini, confused and convinced, stayed on the line.

Then he asked for a secondary number. Harini shared her husband Dinesh’s contact.

The same playbook was used again. The fraudster called Dinesh, repeated the pitch, and persuaded him to go through the same OTP-based “registration". This time, the loss was steeper; four separate withdrawals totaling Rs 1.9 lakh.

In under an hour, the couple had lost over Rs 2.1 lakh.

On Friday, Dinesh filed a complaint at the Bandipalya police station. The couple also contacted their bank and called the National Cybercrime Helpline (1930). Police have registered a case under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and are working to trace and freeze the fraudster’s bank accounts.

Investigators say the case is part of a growing trend where scammers exploit the credibility of institutions like the military to manipulate victims emotionally, particularly through WhatsApp-based impersonations.

Police have urged citizens to avoid sharing Aadhaar, UPI, or banking details with unknown callers, no matter how official they may sound, and to treat all “job offer" calls requiring OTP sharing as immediate red flags.

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News india Bengaluru Couple Get 'Jai Hind, Jai Indian Army' Call, Lose Rs 2 Lakh