A 60-year-old shopkeeper from Mira Road has allegedly lost ₹2.22 lakh from his bank account, despite never receiving a suspicious phone call, sharing an OTP, or clicking any suspicious link, leaving police to figure out exactly how the money moved.
A Loss Discovered Almost by Accident
The victim runs a stationery shop in the Shanti Nagar area of Mira Road. Between August 7 and August 9, ₹2,22,800 was withdrawn from his account without his knowledge. He only found out after his son happened to check the SMS messages on his father's phone and noticed the account balance had dropped.
No OTP, No Password, No UPI Transaction, So How Did This Happen?
What makes this case unusual is everything the victim says he didn't do. He told police he hadn't carried out any UPI transaction during that window, hadn't received a call from an unknown number, hadn't shared an OTP or password with anyone, and hadn't made any changes to his bank account details.
That absence of the usual red flags is exactly what's puzzling investigators. With none of the typical fraud indicators present, police suspect the fraudsters may have gained control of the victim's phone through a suspicious app file or link, potentially giving them remote access to banking or UPI-related information stored on the device, which could then have been used to carry out the transactions without the victim ever realising in real time.
What Police Are Doing Now
After the loss came to light, a cheating case was registered under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against an unidentified person at Naya Nagar police station. The cyber cell has begun examining the UPI IDs linked to the fraudulent transactions, along with the bank accounts through which the money moved.
A complaint has also been filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, and investigators are now tracing the full digital and financial trail connected to the case, from how access to the phone may have been gained, to where the withdrawn funds eventually ended up.
A Fraud Pattern Worth Knowing About
This case has drawn police attention to a particular method of cyber fraud, one where money can be withdrawn without the victim ever knowingly sharing an OTP or responding to a suspicious call. It's a reminder that not every fraud starts with an obvious red flag; sometimes the compromise happens quietly through a device itself, well before any money actually moves.
Authorities have urged anyone who suspects they've been targeted by cyber fraud to approach their nearest police station promptly and report the incident through the cybercrime helpline at 1930.
FAQs
Q1. How much money did the shopkeeper lose, and over what period?
₹2.22 lakh was withdrawn from his account between August 7 and August 9.
Q2. Did the victim share an OTP or click any suspicious link?
No. He told police he shared no OTP or password, made no UPI transaction, and received no suspicious call, which is what's making the case unusual.
Q3. How do police suspect the fraud was carried out?
Investigators suspect the fraudsters may have gained remote access to the victim's phone through a suspicious app file or link, potentially accessing banking or UPI information stored on the device.
Q4. What should someone do if they suspect similar fraud?
Report it immediately to the nearest police station or through the cybercrime helpline at 1930.