Hyderabad: Woman doctor falls victim to fake medical examination offer, loses Rs 1.40 lakh

Hyderabad: In a recent case of cyber fraud, a Hyderabad-based woman doctor was scammed out of Rs. 1.40 lakh by a fraudster posing as an army official. The scam unfolded when the scammer pretended to arrange for a group of women cadets to undergo medical examinations at her clinic.

According to the news reports, the amount was debited from the victim’s ICICI Bank account while she shared her GooglePay screen with the fraudster.

On February 2, a 49-year-old resident of Hyderguda was contacted by a fraudster through WhatsApp. The scammer claimed he planned to send women cadets to her clinic for general examinations and medical certifications. He further mentioned that the consultation fee would be paid upfront and that an army colonel would manage the payment process.

Soon after, the doctor received a video call from another man posing as an army colonel. He instructed her to share her bank account details so that Rs. 37,000 could be transferred for the medical examination of 90 lady cadets, at a rate of Rs. 400 per person. To build trust, the scammer first transferred Rs. 10 into her ICICI Bank account and asked her to confirm the deposit. He assured her that the full amount would soon follow, processed via GooglePay.

Following the initial deposit, the fraudster asked the victim to share her GooglePay screen so that he could complete the transaction.

While she was engaged in the conversation, the fraudster initiated three unauthorized transactions to his own ICICI credit card, using the details accessed from her phone. The victim, who was unaware of the ongoing transaction, did not receive any alerts or OTPs (One-Time Passwords) to confirm the fraudulent charges. She only realized she had been scammed when the fraudster inquired if a further payment had been credited to her account. Upon checking her account, the doctor was stunned to discover a Rs. 1,40,972 deduction from her balance.

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Speaking to The Hindu, Hyderabad cybercrime inspector Satish Reddy said, “Fraudsters installed a UPI application on their device using the victim’s mobile number. This app is then activated using the OTP sent to the number, visible on the victim’s screen. In this case, the fraudster typed in the OTP, and the app automatically fetched data related to the ICICI Bank account connected with the number. Transactions were authorized without the victim’s knowledge.”

Realizing that she had been duped, the doctor immediately contacted ICICI Bank to block her cards and check for any other fraudulent activities. The bank confirmed the unauthorized transactions, leading the victim to file a formal complaint with the police.

The official stated that the first step in the investigation was to request the bank to provide transaction records related to the victim’s account in order to identify the beneficiary account(s). The police also issued a warning to the public, advising them not to share their mobile or computer screens via apps like Google Meet, AnyDesk, or TeamViewer, as these could lead to fraudulent transactions without the need for OTPs.

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According to the Hindu, the police said, financial transactions should never involve screen sharing, as no legitimate bank or institution would request such an action. The identity of callers claiming to represent the army, police, or any organization should always be verified by directly contacting the institution.