Lucknow: A person hailing from a locality in Lucknow's Uttar Pradesh was duped of Rs 7 lakhs by the cyber fraudsters leaving him devasted. The cyber cheats siphoned off money from his bank account within a few minutes on Thursday. Victim Vipin Kumar Aggarwal, a resident of Vrindavan Yojana in the PGI area of Lucknow was planning a trip to Himachal Pradesh for a holiday. He took the help of the 'MakeMyTrip' app to book a cab for sightseeing in Himachal Pradesh.
The cab was booked for Palampur in Himachal Pradesh. Five days after booking the cab, Vipin Kumar received a call on his mobile phone. He was told that the booking had been cancelled. Vipin then asked the caller what would be the way out as he needed a refund. The caller said that he (Vipin Kumar) would have to download an app to seek refunds from the MakeMyTrip website.
Narrating his ordeals, Vipin Kumar, said, "I was guided by the caller to download another app from the internet for seeking refund. As per his instructions, I installed the app on my Android phone. After installing the application, within seven minutes, Rs 7 lakh disappeared from my bank account. The cyber thugs stole a huge sum of money so quickly before I could realise my folly. The scammers hacked my bank account, the moment I downloaded the application on my cell phone."
On Thursday, the victim filed an FIR with the cyber crime police station in Lucknow. In-charge of the police station Muslim Khan, "Based on the victim's complaint, an FIR has been registered with the cyber crime police station in Lucknow. We have launched an investigation and action will be taken against the fraudsters soon. We keep on reminding people through different platforms like social media and others not to download any application or click on phishing links sent by unverified persons. We also remind people to avoid entertaining unsolicited calls or phishing links."
