Painting contractor loses over Rs 4 lakh as cyber fraudster hacks his WhatsApp account

Mumbai, Dec 4 (PTI) A painting contractor lost Rs 4.31 lakh as a cyber fraudster allegedly hacked his WhatsApp account after sending an image of a woman, police said on Thursday.

The incident came to light on Monday, when the 38-year-old victim, a resident of Chunabhatti in central Mumbai lodged a complaint at the Bhoiwada police station, an official said.

According to the complaint, on November 14, he was in Parel area to check a flat to get a painting contract.

In the evening, he received a call from an unidentified number, in which the caller asked him to check his WhatsApp, as he had sent an image of a woman. But as the caller was not known to him, the complainant disconnected the call.

After some time, he found that he had received a photo of a woman on his WhatsApp and there were various messages with the image, he said.

The complainant then started getting calls, but he did not respond to them, the official said, adding that he also received OTP (one time password) messages.

The victim found it suspicious and he contacted his bank's helpline number, but the customer care executive disconnected the call, saying the voice was not clear. He tried to call again, but could not establish contact.

Half an hour later, he again started getting OTP messages, which he did not share with anybody. Yet, he received messages that Rs 4.31 lakh had been debited from his account in three transactions, the police said.

Thereafter, he approached the police and lodged a complaint. A case has been registered and investigation is on, he said. PTI DC NP