Pune based software engineer loses Rs 3.6 lakh in electricity bill fraud

A suspected cybercrook who pretended to be a representative of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) stole Rs 3.6 lakh from a 49-year-old software engineer.

The scam occurred in November of last year. The tech enthusiast had applied for a complaint with the cyber police station. On Wednesday, a case was filed with the Sinhagad Road police following the investigations. According to the victim’s complaint, on November 7, he got a call from a man posing as an MSEDCL official.

According to a police officer, he informed the victim that his house’s electricity supply would be cut off if the power bill for the month of October was not paid on time.

The caller advised the complainant to download the “Electricity Bill” app in order to verify the receipt after he informed him that he had already paid the electricity bill.

The police were informed by the complainant that the caller had sent him a link to the application, the officer added. In addition, he instructed the complainant to send Rs. 30 and input his bank details.

The transaction failed when the victim attempted to transfer the money.

The officer went on to say that the complainant began getting messages from his banks regarding the amount being debited a few minutes later. Through fourteen transactions, the miscreants embezzled Rs 3.68 lakh money.

He claimed that in order to steal the money, the criminals used a remote access app to get into the victims’ accounts. The case is being looked into by the police. The officer said that the culprit will be arrested soon.