In a shocking case of cyber fraud, a 57-year-old woman from Bengaluru lost ₹2 lakh after receiving a fake Interactive Voice Response (IVR) call that appeared to be from a nationalized bank. This is believed to be the first incident of its kind in the city.
The victim, identified as Sumitra (name changed), resides in Dattatreyanagar, Hosakerehalli. She received the call at around 3:55 PM and initially believed it was from the State Bank of India (SBI), as the caller ID displayed the bank’s official number.
Suspicious IVR Call Led to Fraud
The pre-recorded IVR message, spoken in English, stated:
“₹2 lakh is being transferred from your account to another account. If you made this transaction, press 3; if not, press 1.”
Sumitra, alarmed by the message, hesitated to respond. However, as the message kept repeating, she eventually pressed ‘1’ to indicate she had not made the transaction. Immediately after, another message instructed her to visit her bank and contact the manager. The call then disconnected.
Money Missing from Account
After checking her bank account, Sumitra was shocked to find ₹2 lakh missing. Panicked, she rushed to her bank, where officials advised her to report the fraud to the cybercrime helpline (1930) and file a complaint with the police.
She subsequently registered a complaint with Girinagar police, who have filed a case under the Information Technology Act and Section 318 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
Investigation Underway
A senior police officer noted that most cybercriminals use IVR calls to trick victims into revealing sensitive information, such as debit card details or account numbers. However, in Sumitra’s case, she did not share any such details.
The officer also pointed out that pressing a button like ‘1’ or ‘3’ alone is unlikely to trigger a money transfer. Investigators suspect that Sumitra may have unknowingly provided some critical information during the call, enabling fraudsters to access her account.
“If she has not shared any details, then this is a new kind of cyber fraud for us,” the officer said. “We will only know the full details after further investigation.”
Authorities have urged the public to be cautious of such calls and to never interact with unknown IVR messages related to bank transactions. Victims of cyber fraud are advised to report incidents immediately to the cybercrime helpline (1930).