Tarun Karthick
Port Blair, 24 February 2024
A Dollygunj resident was duped by fraudsters while he was trying to purchase some ayurvedic medicine online for cancer. The victim, aged 45 and a Government supplier by profession, detailed his ordeal in an official complaint received by the authorities.
According to the victim’s statement, on April 3, 2023, around 12:30 PM, while visiting his sister’s residence at Junglighat, he sought to purchase Cancer Ayurvedic medicine. He found a supplier’s contact number through an online search. After engaging in a conversation with the seller, the victim proceeded to purchase the medicine, making a payment of Rs. 28,600 through Google Pay, utilizing his wife’s SBI account.
However, despite assurances from the seller, the victim never received the medicine. Following up on April 6, 2023, he contacted the seller again, who provided him with the number of a purported courier service. Upon contacting the courier service, the victim was informed that his shipment was pending due to a nominal fee of Rs. 5 for courier activation. Believing the explanation, he proceeded with the payment process through a link provided by the courier service.
Unbeknownst to him, the process turned out to be a fraudulent scheme. The victim filled out a form with his bank account details, including his Punjab National Bank account details including the UPI PIN initially, and later as the fraudsters informed him that his payment has failed, he also entered his Canara Bank account details and UPI PIN.
To his dismay, he discovered unauthorised deductions of Rs. 23,799 from his Punjab National Bank account and Rs. 8,299 from his Canara Bank account. Moreover, he received a verification call from the bank, alerting him to further unauthorised transfer attempts.
Feeling duped, the victim promptly blocked all UPI-linked bank accounts. He now seeks justice, urging the authorities to file an FIR against the unknown fraudster responsible for deceiving him of a total amount of Rs. 60,698.