CHENNAI: An Income Tax department staff lost nearly Rs 98,500 to an online fraudster in Chennai. The victim, Nishanth Kumar (29) is a native of West Bengal, and an administrative staff member of the IT department.

According to police, Nishanth’s father-in-law informed sent him sweets from Kolkata on November 11 for Deepavali. As he did not receive the parcel till November 13, Nishanth searched for customer care number online and called a number.

A man, who received the call, directed him to open a link and transfer Rs 5 from his bank account. When he made the transaction, the conman took away a total of Rs 98,500 in three installments.