Pune: A shopkeeper from Tadiwala Road was cheated of Rs 5.30 lakh by online fraudsters who sent him a link to remote access software disguised as an online wedding invitation.The fraud took place between May 9 and 11 this year.The 53-year-old shopkeeper approached the Pune cyber police after discovering the scam. Following verification of his complaint, a formal FIR was registered with the Bund Garden police on Saturday.“We have registered the case. Further investigation is underway. We have traced the mule bank accounts to which the money was transferred,” senior inspector Santosh Pandhare of Bund Garden police told TOI.According to police, the shopkeeper received an online wedding invitation through a messaging application. He opened the message and clicked on the link, after which a small form appeared asking him to enter his name and phone number.Police said the shopkeeper also entered an OTP in the form, which led to the installation of remote access software on his cellphone. After sharing the OTP, he unknowingly gave the fraudsters complete access to his device. The shopkeeper used both a UPI application and a banking app on his phone. The suspects allegedly exploited these applications to siphon off Rs 5.30 lakh from his bank account.“The suspects used his UPI and banking apps during the night hours, when people are generally asleep and less likely to notice banking alerts,” Pandhare said, adding that the suspects also deleted the bank messages informing him about the transactions.Police said the link was not an online wedding invitation but a remote access software installation link.“People should be careful while opening suspicious links received through messages from unknown or random numbers,” the officer added.
