Kolkata: A fresh surge in cyber frauds across the city at the onset of Mahalaya has prompted police to launch multiple investigations following separate incidents of digital financial fraud and fake visa rackets involving lakhs of rupees.
In the Watgunge police station area, a local business proprietor was cheated of Rs 3 lakh under the guise of an overseas job placement and visa procurement scheme for Sydney, Australia. Police officials urged citizens to remain cautious against unsolicited calls, suspicious web links and unverified overseas employment claims. Further technical investigations into the financial trails and digital logs are currently underway across all cases.
In the first case registered in south Kolkata, an unsuspecting subscriber fell prey to an electricity bill scam after receiving instructions from an individual posing as a power utility representative and lost Rs 1.5 lakh in multiple online transactions from the victim’s bank account in Kalighat. A 23-year-old resident of Jadulal Mullick Road was allegedly duped of Rs 1.2 lakh after an unidentified fraudster, operating through digital channels, falsely impersonated a legitimate official and convinced the victim to execute multiple online fund transfers over a two-day period.