Siliguri, 07th August: Cases of cyber crime are on the rise in Siliguri, with a woman and a youth falling victim in two separate incidents, together losing around ₹20 lakh.
In the first case, a woman was duped of ₹15.73 lakh through an online trading scam. Reportedly, she came across an advertisement for a UK-based trading website on social media in May and initially invested ₹21,000. Later, lured by promises of high returns, she made several international transactions, ultimately investing over ₹15 lakh. When she tried to withdraw the funds, the agents blocked all contact. The fraudsters were reportedly using phone numbers from Kenya, Israel, and the UK. The woman has filed a written complaint at the Siliguri Cyber Crime Police Station.
In the second case, a youth named Suman Dutta was tricked into sharing an OTP under the pretext of updating his KYC details. The caller, posing as a Bandhan Bank employee, requested his PAN details and photo. Soon after sharing the OTP, ₹4.05 lakh was withdrawn from his bank account in two transactions. Dutta, a supervisor at a construction company, said it was his life’s savings.
Police at the Cyber Crime Station have launched investigations into both cases.