Thoothukudi farmer loses Rs 1.27 lakhs in vishing; duo from Bengal arrested

The main gang behind the crime had gone underground soon after the arrest of the duo. Accoring to police, Palraj (54), a farmer from Adaikalapuram near Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi district and an account holder of the Canara Bank received a call from an unknown number on January 31. 

The caller claimed himself to be a staff of the bank said that Palraj’s card has been blocked and demanded the 16-digit number and one-time password (OTP) of his ATM card. Palraj gave him all the details and immediately he received an SMS that Rs1,27,919 had been deducted from his account. 

The next day, Palraj went to the bank to check about the transaction with the bank officials at the local branch. But to his shock, the manager showed him the transaction details and informed him that the money had been taken from his account and transferred to another PAYTM account. 

He also confirmed that no one from the bank had called Palraj and asked for his card details. Immediately, Palraj lodged a police complaint and it was taken to the knowledge of the Thoothukudi SP, Ashwin Kotnis, who formed a special team to probe the case. 

After scrutinising the PAYTM account, cops traced the location of the fraudsters to Hooghly district in West Bengal. The special team went to Hooghly and arrested the duo, identified as Javeed Akther (19) and Kadhar Hussian (37), with the help of the local police. 

The duo have been brought to Thoothkudi and interrogated to gather details about the other accused involved in such fraudulent activities. Police revealed that a big gang from West Bengal was involved in vishing activities.