Pune Police Constable Falls Victim to Daring Cyber Fraud: Rs 2.3 Lakh Vanishes After Scanning Malicious QR Code!

Pune (The Uttam Hindu):A police constable from Pune was scammed out of Rs 2.3 lakh in a cyber fraud case that involved scanning a QR code. The incident took place in Saswad, near Pune, where the constable was attempting to make a payment at a bakery. After scanning the QR code, he received a notification of an unauthorized deduction of Rs 18,755 from his savings account. Upon checking his other accounts, he noticed that Rs 12,250 had been deducted from his salary account, leaving only Rs 50 in the account.

The situation escalated when the constable received an OTP alert for a Rs 1.9 lakh transaction from his gold loan account. Despite not sharing the OTP, the transaction went through successfully. The fraudsters also attempted to use his credit card details for two transactions of Rs 14,000, but the constable quickly froze his bank accounts and credit card to prevent further losses.

The police are investigating the case and believe the fraudsters may have accessed the constable’s phone and bank accounts through a malicious APK file. It is suspected that the constable may have unknowingly clicked on a link sent by the scammers, which allowed them to install malware on his device. This malware captured sensitive information, such as login credentials and OTPs, enabling the fraudsters to access multiple accounts. The authorities are now investigating whether the QR code was tampered with or if other tactics were used by the scammers to deceive the constable. The police investigation is still ongoing.