Woman bank employee in Gurugram duped of ₹3 lakh over WhatsApp call

Woman bank employee in Gurugram duped of ₹3 lakh

She realised that she had been duped when she made a normal call on his friend's number later and was told that he had not asked her for any money. (Bloomberg)

A woman bank employee was duped of ₹3 lakh after a fraudster tricked her into believing that she was sending the money to a friend in distress, the Gurugram police said on Friday.

The woman, a resident of Sector 43 of Gurugram, said she received a WhatsApp call Thursday from a number which had the display picture of her friend.

"The audio was not clear on the WhatsApp call and soon after I got a message from his side that a tragedy had happened in his house and he needed monetary help. He sent two UPI IDs and asked me to transfer money. I transferred a total of ₹3 lakh in six transactions from my own account and that of my brother and sister," she said in her complaint.

She realised that she had been duped when she made a normal call on his friend's number later and was told that he had not asked her for any money.

Based on her complaint, an FIR was registered against unidentified persons under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC.

"Action has been initiated.... An attempt has been made to freeze the amount by informing the bank about the forgery," Sandeep Kumar, the officer investigating the case, said.