Bengaluru doctor loses ₹5 lakh to fake customer care agent in return scam

A 71-year-old doctor from Indiranagar has been duped of ₹5 lakh in a fake customer care scam, police said. The incident came to light after the victim filed a complaint with the East CEN Crime Police on Wednesday.

The doctor had ordered a shirt online and wanted to return it. Unable to find the official helpline, he searched for a customer care number on Google and called the number that appeared in the results.

His first two calls were disconnected. On the third attempt, a man identifying himself as Mahindra Pandit answered and asked for the doctor's debit card details. The suspect then contacted the victim on WhatsApp and instructed him to follow a series of steps.

The doctor complied, unaware that the fraudster was gaining remote control of his mobile phone. Within roughly five minutes, seven unauthorised transactions totalling ₹5 lakh were carried out from his bank account.

The victim reportedly received OTP alerts for each transaction but could not act on them as his phone was under the fraudster's control at the time.

The East CEN Crime Police have registered a case and are investigating to identify the accused and trace the siphoned funds.