BHOPAL: An online fraudster allegedly called a school principal posing himself as the parent of a student saying that he was in Merchant Navy and wanted to pay his son's school fees online. He took details of the UPI linked online payment wallet of an accountant woman and siphoned Rs 15,000 from her account in two transactions instead of depositing. The victim accountant filed a complaint with Cyber-crime branch on which a case on charges of fraud was registered against the unidentified accused on the basis of his mobile number on Wednesday.
Investigation officer SI Vivek Arya said that victim Puja Gour, 25, a resident of Harshwardhan Nagar, in her complaint to police stated that she works at a private school in the accounts department. She told police that on February 4, the school principal received a call on her school landline number in which the male caller introduced himself as the father of a student studying in their school. He told the principal that he works in the Merchant Navy, so he would not be able to come to school to deposit his son's school fees. He asked the principal to give him the school's account number on which he could deposit the fees online.
SI Arya said that the school principal fell in the fraudster's trap and gave him the school's bank account number. The fraudster then told the principal to give him UPI account number as he was not able to access his bank account virtually being in merchant navy. The school principal then called Puja and asked her to give the number of her personal UPI online payment wallet to receive the money. Puja gave her online payment wallet number to the accused and he sent her a request link on her online payment wallet asking her to receive it. As soon as Puja clicked on the link and entered her UPI PIN, Rs 10,000 were deducted from her UPI account and transferred to the account of the accused. She told the fraudster that money was deducted instead of receipt and he apologised. He told her that he would send her a request through a link again and the money will be refunded in her account. He sent the link and as soon as Puja clicked it and entered the UPI PIN, again Rs 5000 was deducted from her account. The accused then switched off his phone. Realising that they were cheated, Puja approached the cyber-crime branch and filed a complaint. Acting on the complaint police have registered a case and further investigations were on.
