• Amidst lockdown, Odisha man gets duped of Rs 19,000 after falling prey to fraudsters
• Bank manager from Bhubaneshwar came across a website that claimed to deliver alcohol
• He placed an online order for a beer which cost him Rs 260
• He was asked to click on a bar code to get his order delivered
• Man follows instructions and the next thing he knows is Rs 19,000 gets debited from his account
• The bank manager lodges a police complaint
The Coronavirus outbreak has made many countries go into a lockdown. On March 24, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a country wide lockdown for 21 days. This brought panic among the citizens and people immediately rushed to the stores to stock up on essentials. In his announcement, PM Modi had mentioned that essentials would be available amidst the lockdown but what many were concerned about was liquor. An incident took place in Odisha where a bank manager got duped of an amount of Rs 19,000 after placing an online order for liquor on March 31.
While many have stocked up on liquor along with essentials, many could not and are now having a tough time hunting for it. In such times, one tends to fall for online fraudsters. The incident took place in Bhubaneshwar, capital of Odisha. According to reports, a banker was surfing the internet when he found a website that claimed that it extends online delivery of liquor in the city.
The bank manager who was desperate to get his alcohol placed an order for a beer bottle which cost him Rs 260. Immediately, he received a phone call about his order being placed. The caller then said that in order to get his alcohol delivered he has to click on a forwarded bar code.
The banker did not waste much time and clicked on the bar code and the next thing he knew, Rs 19,000 got debited from his account. He tried calling back on the number but it was “untraceable.” Soon after being duped, the bank manager lodged an online complaint with the deputy commissioner of police, informing about the incident.
Reports suggest that the police have initiated an investigation into the case and have urged people to remain alert and not fall for such fraudsters.
