BHOPAL has reported 28 cyber fraud cases involving losses of more than Rs 29 lakh, with victims ranging from students to senior citizens. Fraudsters allegedly used credit card upgrades, electricity bill warnings, fake jobs, online tasks and other methods to target residents. Most cases were transferred from the cyber police station to local police stations as zero FIRs, where cases were registered. CREDIT CARD FRAUDS REPORTED WIDELY: Credit card-related frauds accounted for several complaints. In Chunabhatti, Akanksha Agrawal allegedly lost Rs 68,000 after being approached by a caller posing as a bank employee offering a credit limit increase. In Shahpura, factory operator Anshuman Singh lost Rs 50,000 after opening a link sent in connection with his RBL card. Teacher Ruby Jain allegedly lost another Rs 50,000 after sharing an OTP while trying to redeem card points. FAKE BILLS AND APK FILES USED: Fraudsters also used electricity bill and smart-meter warnings. In Chunabhatti, a 74- year-old retired professor, Rashmi Dwivedi, allegedly lost Rs 81,000 after opening an APK file sent in the name of a smart meter service. In Kolar Road, retired LIC employee Santosh Sarathe allegedly lost Rs 4.29 lakh after opening a file received through WhatsApp following a Facebook advertisement for a pension card.

 

PHONES COMPROMISED, ACCOUNTS EMPTIED:Several victims reported suspicious phone activity before money was withdrawn. Chhola Mandir resident Jagmohan Vishwakarma allegedly lost Rs 3 lakh through UPI after his SIM stopped working. In Misrod, Saurabh Shukla lost Rs 34,500 after downloading a Netflixrelated application. In Shahpura, Ankush Bansal allegedly lost Rs 2.26 lakh after opening a link related to a traffic challan. JOBS AND ONLINE TASKS USED: Fraudsters also allegedly targeted people with promises of online earnings and employment. Gautam Nagar resident Tejendra Singh transferred around Rs 1.25 lakh through three accounts after being offered Telegram-based tasks, while CA student Subrat Singh lost Rs 34,000. In Shahjahanabad, Chirag Sewani allegedly paid Rs 1.56 lakh after being promised a job with Tata Motors. SENIOR CITIZENS AMONG VICTIMS:In Kohefiza, 79-yearold Shaheen Parveen allegedly lost Rs 1.49 lakh after being contacted over a video call on the pretext of issuing a senior citizen card. Kolar Road resident Ruchi Gupta allegedly lost Rs 1.44 lakh during a video call initiated over a purported clothing return. POLICE URGE CAUTION ONLINE: Police have advised residents not to open unknown links or APK files and never share card details, CVV numbers or OTPs. Victims of cyber fraud have been advised to immediately report incidents to the national cybercrime helpline at 1930.