Pic for representation
Mumbai: Amboli police registered an FIR on Sept 30 after singer Ravi Mehra (73) was allegedly duped of Rs 45,000 through a suspected three-way call merge fraud involving a purported parcel delivery. Mehra, an Andheri (W) resident, received a call on Sept 20 from a man claiming to represent Zepto customer care. The caller asked Mehra to transfer Rs 2 through Google Pay to a mobile number, according to the FIR. Mehra later noticed that Rs 45,000 had been debited from his bank savings account. Mehra said he did not provide any information and contacted cyber helpline 1930 that night to register a complaint.
The caller said an item was missing from a parcel meant for Mehra and asked him to remain on the phone. Mehra said he subsequently received another call from a person claiming to be from Zepto customer care, who acknowledged the debit and sought his bank account details, purportedly to return the money. Police said the caller kept Mehra engaged and managed to obtain one time password details. A senior cyber police officer said scammers may briefly place victims on hold or merge another line to intercept automated security readouts, including voice OTPs generated by online banking, Gmail or UPI systems.
Investigators have sought information from the bank and asked it to freeze the account that received the money.
You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Mumbai | Silver Rate in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai | Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Petrol Price in Mumbai | Diesel Price in Mumbai | CNG Price in Mumbai | LPG Price in Mumbai Stay updated with the latest Mumbai news.
The officer said prolonged calls do not hack phones or install malware, but allow scammers to keep victims distracted, prevent them from verifying claims and manipulate them into compromising their accounts. Download the TOI App.