Bank employees fall in trap of cybercrimes; lose Rs. 29.18 lakhs

VISAKHAPATNAM: A gang of habitual offenders of cybercrimes have trapped and stolen a hefty amount of Rs. 29.18 lakhs from Union Bank of India through just WhatsApp messages. Employees of Union Bank of India, the State government, and some private companies have fallen prey to cybercrimes in the city.

According to police, impersonating District Collectors, the cybercriminals demanded money from several government employees through WhatsApp. The employees, though confused and surprised at first, succumbed to the demand and transferred the amount sought by the callers to the account details provided. The cybercriminals also bought Amazon gift cards for private employees and sent messages to them in the name of their officers. Incidentally, a private employee even fell into the trap and bought the gift card assuming it to be the orders of his higher officials.

The bank officials recognized the fraudulent dealings through Mahalakshmi Auto Agency account-holder. The agency alerted the bank officials after watching the detection and transfer of money into another unidentified account. The bank officials instantly froze the account into which the money was transferred after noticing the mistake. Later, the employees approached the district collector to enquire about the same. The district collector denied any the same and said that he did not send across any message demanding money.

The district collector immediately complained to the Commissioner of Police (CP) about the unfortunate incident. Cybercrime police registered a case on the orders of the Commissioner. Reportedly, in the investigation, it was recognized that these frauds were being run from Gujarat.