Chandigarh: Cyber fraudsters are increasingly devising new ways to target residents in Chandigarh, with recent complaints ranging from fake gas bill alerts and bogus bank calls to unauthorised credit card transactions and fake kidnapping threats. In a string of cases reported at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Sector 17, victims have alleged losses collectively running into several lakh rupees.In one case, a resident of Sector 43-B alleged that he received a call on Aug 11 from a person claiming to be an employee of a gas company. The caller told him that his gas bill was overdue and that his connection would be disconnected unless he paid Rs 12 through a link sent to his phone. After clicking the link, the complainant alleged that fraudsters gained access to his device and siphoned off around Rs 2.6 lakh through his credit card.In a similar incident, a Sector 35 resident alleged that fraudsters posing as Adani Gas employees gained access to his mobile phone and banking details, withdrawing over Rs 3 lakh through two transactions.A retired bank officer from Sector 44 allegedly lost Rs 1.2 lakh after receiving a call from a person claiming to be from the headquarters of Punjab National Bank. On the pretext of issuing a retirement benefit card, the caller obtained details of his ATM card. The victim later discovered that money had allegedly been transferred between his accounts and withdrawn through Amazon Pay transactions.In another complaint, a retired colonel from Sector 21 reported three unauthorised transactions amounting to Rs 3.05 lakh on his credit card within a span of about two minutes on July 28. He subsequently got the card blocked and approached the cyber police.A firm based in Sector 9-D also reported four unauthorised UPI transactions totalling Rs 2.4 lakh from its current account. The complainant claimed that the account’s UPI facility was not being used by the company.Meanwhile, a resident of Sector 20 was allegedly duped of Rs 1.1 lakh after receiving a WhatsApp call from a person claiming that his son had been taken into custody. The caller demanded money for his son’s safe release. The victim transferred the amount in multiple payments before contacting his son and discovering that he was safe at home.The cyber police have registered separate FIRs in all the cases and launched investigations. Officials have urged residents to remain cautious while responding to unsolicited calls, clicking on unknown links or sharing banking and card-related information with anyone.
