Family of patient duped of Rs 1.59 Lakh while booking online doctor appointment

Shahdol: A family in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh has allegedly lost Rs 1.59 lakh after attempting to book an online appointment with a doctor for their son’s treatment. The incident occurred when the patient’s mother searched for the doctor’s phone number and was instead connected with fraudsters posing as medical staff.

The incident took place in the Byawari police station area of Shahdol. The father had taken his younger son to Nagpur for treatment of a bone-related illness. While the child was undergoing evaluation, he reportedly asked his wife to search online for the doctor’s contact number to fix an appointment.

According to a report by ETV Bharat, when the mother dialled the number found through a Google search, the call was answered by cyber fraudsters instead of the actual doctor or hospital staff. The callers allegedly introduced themselves as part of the doctor’s team and gained her trust. They instructed her to download a mobile application on her phone under the pretext of facilitating the appointment process. 

Soon after she complied, money began to be withdrawn from her bank account in multiple transactions. Two transfers of Rs 50,000 each were made, followed by another transfer of Rs 59,000, taking the total to Rs 1,59,000. The family has described the incident as a major financial setback resulting from what they termed a minor lapse in verifying the contact details.  

The couple has since approached the office of the Superintendent of Police in Shahdol and is pursuing the matter with local authorities, seeking recovery of the lost amount. They have also submitted a formal complaint to the district police headquarters.   

The Additional Superintendent of Police confirmed that a written complaint has been received. He stated that the father had obtained treatment-related information from a hospital in Nagpur and had asked his wife to contact the doctor. However, upon dialling the number sourced online, more than ₹1.5 lakh was debited from their account. The Cyber Cell has initiated appropriate legal action in the matter.