Delhi-based freelance journalist duped of Rs 40,000; claims 'hypnotised' on call
According to cyber experts, it is a new sort of crime where criminals try to exploit the positivity and friendly nature of people.
- May 11, 2023,
- Updated May 11, 2023 12:53 PM IST
A 40-year-old Delhi-based freelance journalist claimed a person "hypnotised" him over the phone and duped him of Rs 40,000. The man, identified as Ramesh Kumar Raja, lodged an FIR with the Delhi Police on April 25 giving details of the alleged crime which took place on March 7.
"The caller pretended to be known to me and during the telephone conversation, he hypnotised me (diverted my mind and thought process) to get fraudulent transactions of Rs 40,000 in two phases of Rs 20,000 each from my bank account via Paytm UPI," Raja told news agency PTI.
According to Raja, he received a call from an unknown person who was polite and friendly.
Raja narrated the whole incident and said that the unknow caller asked him to guess his name. "Since his voice resembled that of a friend of mine who is a doctor, I asked him if he was the one and he said, 'Yes, now you have recognised me correctly'," Raja added.
Raja revealed that he and the caller spoke about several general things about health and family. He further stated that the caller was so confident and congenial in talking that there was not an iota of doubt.
Raja also explained that he felt as if he lost his reasoning power while talking to the caller and started following his instructions. After the two had a conversation for a while, the caller told Raja that his online payments app was not working and he had to pay money to someone.
So, he wanted to deposit some money into Raja's account and offered to collect that amount in cash from his house in the evening.
"Though it was a strange offer, I still couldn't question him and say why he himself cannot withdraw money from any nearby ATM," Raja said.
The caller initiated the transaction by sending Raja Rs 2. He sent a Paytm message and Raja opened the message after entering a PIN. Suddenly, he realised that he lost Rs 2 from his SBI account which was linked to his Paytm account.
Raja recalled the incident and added: "I told him that instead of getting money, I lost Rs 2. Then he apologised and said that it happened by mistake and sent another message on which I clicked and entered my pin. This time I received Rs 4."
Then he sent another Paytm message saying that he was paying Raja Rs 20,000. But the moment Raja initiated the same process, he realised that Rs 20,000 was deducted from his account.
When Raja told him about it, he again apologised and sent another message, on which Raja clicked and realised that Rs 20,000 debited from his account once again.
Raja revealed that he told the caller that he lost Rs 40,000 to him but the caller made some excuse and disconnected the call.
As per the report, Raja wrote to SBI, Paytm, and all financial authorities and got an FIR lodged with the North Delhi cyber police station. Raja feels that his mind was completely paralysed to question his own action.
However, a police officer dismissed Raja's claim. "This is a most normal kind of cyber fraud. I have been receiving many such cases in which people get calls where the strangers first ask them to recognise and then dupe them after a friendly chat," the officer said.
According to cyber experts, it is a new sort of crime where criminals try to exploit the positivity and friendly nature of people.
Prashant Gautam, Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO), Delhi Police, said "the more friendly and polite you are towards strangers, there are greater chances that you fall prey to this type of cybercrime". He added that these fraudsters are conning gullible people by winning their trust and confidence.
(With PTI inputs)
A 40-year-old Delhi-based freelance journalist claimed a person "hypnotised" him over the phone and duped him of Rs 40,000. The man, identified as Ramesh Kumar Raja, lodged an FIR with the Delhi Police on April 25 giving details of the alleged crime which took place on March 7.
"The caller pretended to be known to me and during the telephone conversation, he hypnotised me (diverted my mind and thought process) to get fraudulent transactions of Rs 40,000 in two phases of Rs 20,000 each from my bank account via Paytm UPI," Raja told news agency PTI.
According to Raja, he received a call from an unknown person who was polite and friendly.
Raja narrated the whole incident and said that the unknow caller asked him to guess his name. "Since his voice resembled that of a friend of mine who is a doctor, I asked him if he was the one and he said, 'Yes, now you have recognised me correctly'," Raja added.
Raja revealed that he and the caller spoke about several general things about health and family. He further stated that the caller was so confident and congenial in talking that there was not an iota of doubt.
Raja also explained that he felt as if he lost his reasoning power while talking to the caller and started following his instructions. After the two had a conversation for a while, the caller told Raja that his online payments app was not working and he had to pay money to someone.
So, he wanted to deposit some money into Raja's account and offered to collect that amount in cash from his house in the evening.
"Though it was a strange offer, I still couldn't question him and say why he himself cannot withdraw money from any nearby ATM," Raja said.
The caller initiated the transaction by sending Raja Rs 2. He sent a Paytm message and Raja opened the message after entering a PIN. Suddenly, he realised that he lost Rs 2 from his SBI account which was linked to his Paytm account.
Raja recalled the incident and added: "I told him that instead of getting money, I lost Rs 2. Then he apologised and said that it happened by mistake and sent another message on which I clicked and entered my pin. This time I received Rs 4."
Then he sent another Paytm message saying that he was paying Raja Rs 20,000. But the moment Raja initiated the same process, he realised that Rs 20,000 was deducted from his account.
When Raja told him about it, he again apologised and sent another message, on which Raja clicked and realised that Rs 20,000 debited from his account once again.
Raja revealed that he told the caller that he lost Rs 40,000 to him but the caller made some excuse and disconnected the call.
As per the report, Raja wrote to SBI, Paytm, and all financial authorities and got an FIR lodged with the North Delhi cyber police station. Raja feels that his mind was completely paralysed to question his own action.
However, a police officer dismissed Raja's claim. "This is a most normal kind of cyber fraud. I have been receiving many such cases in which people get calls where the strangers first ask them to recognise and then dupe them after a friendly chat," the officer said.
According to cyber experts, it is a new sort of crime where criminals try to exploit the positivity and friendly nature of people.
Prashant Gautam, Deputy Commissioner, Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO), Delhi Police, said "the more friendly and polite you are towards strangers, there are greater chances that you fall prey to this type of cybercrime". He added that these fraudsters are conning gullible people by winning their trust and confidence.
(With PTI inputs)