Times News NetworkPanchkula: An Army man posted with the Army Service Corps (ASC) in Kalka allegedly lost Rs 1.23 lakh after downloading a fraudulent application through a WhatsApp link while attempting to book an appointment for a medical check-up.Complainant Dharamveer Vardhan, a resident of New Map Army Cantonment in Kalka, told the police that he had recently undergone bypass surgery and was diabetic.On Oct 22, while trying to book an appointment for a medical check-up through Google, he came across a phone number. A caller told him that an appointment could be booked through an application for a nominal fee of Rs 5.According to the complaint, the caller sent an appointment-booking link on WhatsApp. When Vardhan clicked on it, an application was automatically downloaded on his mobile phone. He paid Rs 5 through Google Pay but declined the caller’s offer to send another link to book a second appointment.He later received an email alert about a transaction of Rs 1. On Oct 28, he received another message informing him of a deduction of Rs 4,999.94 from his Punjab National Bank account. Suspecting cyber fraud, he immediately contacted the bank’s customer care to block his bank accounts and credit cards.On checking his transactions, he found that Rs 4,999.94 had been deducted from one bank account, Rs 24,000 from another bank account and Rs 94,982 through multiple transactions on his bank credit card. The total alleged loss amounted to Rs 1,23,981.The complainant reported the matter on the cyber crime portal and lodged a police complaint. The Cyber Crime police station in Sector 20 registered an FIR on Nov 3 under sections 318(4), 316(2), 336(3), 338, 340 and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The accused has been listed as unknown, and an investigation is underway.
