Kurnool(Andhra Pradesh): In what appears to be a classic case of phishing attack, Kurnool Lok Sabha MP Dr. Sanjeev Kumar reported a loss of Rs 97,699 from his bank as withdrawn by scamsters after he shared his banking details and One Time Passwords (OTPs), on Monday.
He has lodged a complaint with Kurnool Police detailing the scam and on how he fell prey to the phishing attack. Police are poring over the digital trace of the transactions through which the money was withdrawn from the MP's bank account. "We are checking the transactions. We will crack it soon," said a senior police official privy to the investigation.
According to the complaint, the YSRCP MP received a purported text message on his phone that his bank account will be blocked if his PAN KYC was not updated. The message also had an 'online link' to complete the KYC using the netbanking credentials without having to visit the bank.
Believing the message as genuine, Sanjeev Kumar clicked on the given link where he entered all the banking details which the phishers had asked for. Once he uploaded the information, the Parliamentarian received a call on his mobile from the scamsters asking for the OTPs to complete the KYC.
Also Read: Maharashtra, TN, Delhi top in banking, cyber fraud cases; people lost Rs 167 crore in 2021
The caller identified himself as calling from the Customer Service team of HDFC Bank. He got me to verify the banking details and to share the OTPs to complete the KYC. After the call, I received messages from the bank that money has been withdrawn from my account in two transactions — for Rs 48,700 and Rs 48,999, the MP was quoted as saying by the police.
Police said Sanjeev Kumar immediately rang up the Customer Service only to know that he has been scammed and that the person with whom he had shared the OTPs was not working in the bank. Subsequently, the MP lodged a complaint.
