Rajkot: A 36-year-old farmer from Rajkot lost Rs 10.9 lakh after falling victim to a cyber fraud involving fake customer care numbers and malicious WhatsApp links while trying to get his washing machine repaired.The fraudsters allegedly posed as representatives of Whirlpool customer care and sent him WhatsApp links under the pretext of completing an online repair process. By obtaining information through these links, they allegedly gained access to banking details and siphoned off Rs 10.9 lakh from his father’s bank account through multiple transactions.The complainant, Jagdish Sagathiya, lodged a complaint at the Rajkot City cybercrime police station.According to the complaint, the washing machine at Sagathiya’s house stopped working on Sept 7. He searched Google for Whirlpool’s customer care number and called one of the numbers displayed in the search results. The person who answered told him that an online process had to be completed to arrange a repair.The caller subsequently sent a WhatsApp link and asked Sagathiya to enter details related to the repair and make an online payment towards the service fee. After opening the link and submitting the requested information, Sagathiya was told that a technician would visit his house and that he needed to pay Rs 5.As Sagathiya was unwilling to make an online payment, he told the caller that he would pay the amount in cash to the technician. During the conversation, the unidentified individuals sent him another WhatsApp link, which opened a page resembling a courier service website. He submitted the required details there as well.However, on Sept 11, Sagathiya began receiving messages on his mobile phone about withdrawals from his father’s bank account. As multiple transactions were carried out in quick succession, he became suspicious and immediately contacted the bank to get the account blocked.By then, the fraudsters had allegedly withdrawn Rs 10.9 lakh from Sagathiya’s father’s account maintained with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank.Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation to identify the persons behind the fraudulent WhatsApp numbers and trace the money transferred through the multiple transactions.
