78-year-old man trying to cancel train tickets on IRCTC website, ends up losing Rs 4 lakh in online scam

A 78-year-old man named M. Mohammed Basheer from Kozhikode Vandipetta tried to cancel his train ticket using the IRCTC website. However, he fell victim to a scam and lost Rs 4 lakhs. The scam involved a fake website and a person posing as a railway employee.

As per Mathurbhumi news, Basheer found himself on a fake website when he attempted to cancel his ticket. Then, someone claiming to be a railway employee contacted him by phone. This person spoke in both English and Hindi and gave Basheer instructions. The instructions led Basheer to type things into Google as directed. After he followed these steps, a blue emblem appeared on his screen, and his device came under the control of the fraudster. In addition, Basheer gave out his bank account details and ATM card number as instructed.

The appearance of the blue emblem on Basheer's screen could indicate the installation of malware on his device. Scammers commonly deploy different forms of malware to gain control over a victim's device. One such type is Remote Access Trojans (RATs), which allow attackers to remotely manipulate the victim's system. It's possible that the scammer used a RAT to gain complete access to Basheer's device. Another tool in their arsenal could have been keyloggers, which record every keystroke made on the victim's device. This means that sensitive information, such as passwords and banking credentials, could have been captured by the scammer using a keylogger. Additionally, the scammer might have utilized spyware, a type of malware designed to stealthily monitor a victim's activities and collect data without their knowledge. This could have enabled the scammer to track Basheer's actions and gather sensitive data discreetly.

The realization of the scam dawned on Basheer when he received a message informing him that money had been taken from his savings account. In a rush, he visited his bank's YMCA branch. However, by then, Rs 4 lakhs from his fixed deposit had also been withdrawn.

The scammers repeatedly contacted Basheer using three different phone numbers. He tried to contact the bank after the first amount was taken, but the scammers prevented him from doing so. Basheer took the step of formatting his phone to prevent further data breaches. He reported the incident to both the bank and the police's cyber cell.

The police's cyber cell investigation revealed that downloading an app named 'Rest Desk' allowed the scammers to access Basheer's phone. The money was taken in four separate withdrawals, with Rs 4,05,919 debited from Kolkata. The police suspect that the phone numbers used to contact Basheer are connected to people from Bengal and Bihar.

Basheer, who used to work as a Senior Engineer in Muscat, expressed his dismay at the speed at which the scammers managed to take his money. Despite having waited for long hours at a bank to close a fixed deposit, the scammers accomplished their deceitful scheme within a short span of time.