Senior citizen defrauded of ₹1.28 lakh in phishing scam

A 75-year-old man from Secunderabad lost over ₹1.28 lakh in a phishing scam after receiving a fake message claiming to be from Indian Oil.

The message stated that his reward points were about to expire and included a link to redeem them, leading him into a well-crafted trap that ended in credit card fraud.

The Hyderabad cyber crime police booked a case.

The fraudulent link redirected him to a fraudulent website offering an Amazon voucher worth ₹10,000 for a nominal payment of ₹399. Trusting the message, the victim proceeded with the process and received a one-time password (OTP) from HSBC Credit Card Services. As the OTP message did not mention any transaction amount, he assumed it was for the ₹399 payment and entered it.

Immediately after sharing the OTP, the victim received a notification from his bank that his credit card had been charged AED 5499, equivalent to ₹1,28,969.33, at a merchant named “Jumbo Co”.

Realising that he had been tricked, he approached the cyber crime police station and reported the incident.

Following the incident, Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police issued a public advisory urging citizens to exercise caution. They stressed that people should never click on suspicious links, even if they appear to come from trusted sources like Indian Oil, banks or online retailers. OTPs should never be shared with anyone, as they confirm full authorisation for transactions.

Citizens should preserve all communication and report any suspicious incidents by dialling 1930 or visiting cybercrime.gov.in. In Hyderabad, victims can also contact or WhatsApp the cyber crime police on 8712665171.