In 7.5 months, 601 online fraud cases in five districts in Haryana

Sunit Dhawan

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Tribune News Service

Rohtak, August 21

Cheating cases, especially related to cyber crime, are on the rise in the city, with online fraudsters employing new tricks to dupe people.

Of the 601 cases of cheating and online fraud registered in five districts falling under the Rohtak range between January 1 and August 15 this year, 305 pertain to Rohtak district alone. It is followed by Sonepat (113 cases), Bhiwani (112), Jhajjar (56) and Charkhi Dadri (15).

Senior citizens have become the soft target as they easily fall for the glib talk of fraudsters. For instance, Vijay Luxmi, a retired schoolteacher residing in Sector 1 here, tried to recharge her mobile phone’s network service online through her savings bank account. The recharge failed, but the amount was deducted from her account.

When the money was not refunded to her account within the stipulated period, she called up, what she believed, bank’s customer care number that she got from a Google search. The person, who posed as the bank executive, sought her bank account details and a one-time password (OTP) sent on her mobile phone.

The unsuspecting elderly woman gave the information. Subsequently, Rs 2 lakh was deducted from her account. It was later learnt that the money was transferred to two bank accounts — one in Chhattisgarh and the other in Telangana — in 20 transactions of Rs 10,000 each.

Vijay Luxmi’s husband Om Prakash said, “I got an FIR registered and also lodged a complaint at the CM window. No action has been taken to date.”

Jitendra Prasad, a retired professor of sociology, also became a victim of an online fraud more than two years ago. He is still running from pillar to post to get his money back.

Inspector Kuldeep Singh, SHO of cyber crime police station here, said: “Online fraudsters operating from far-off states pose a challenge to investigators. Physical verification of official records takes time and unavailability of trains is challenge.”

In all, 44 cases of online fraud registered in Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri districts have been referred to the cyber crime police station, which caters to the Rohtak range.

“Conmen posing as bank officials or customer care executives of companies commit online fraud. They defraud unsuspecting persons on the pretext of OLX deals and government welfare schemes,” said the SHO.