5 Points On How Delhi Man Lost Nearly 50 Lakh After Receiving Blank, Missed Calls

The man, identified as Shamsher Singh, received repeated blank and missed calls on his cell phone between 7pm and 8:44pm on November 13. While he ignored some of the calls, when he picked up the ring no one spoke from the other side. 

However, after some time, Mr Singh started receiving several messages from his bank for the withdrawal of money. And in just a short time, he got the shock of his life as nearly half a crore had been withdrawn from his account through real-time gross settlement (RTGS), i.e., instant fund transfer. 

Speaking to NDTV, Mr Singh said that the fraudsters were able to complete the transactions without ever needing the OTP (One Time Password) code, which is typically used as a security measure to verify the identity of the account holder. 

Delhi Police has registered a case on Mr Singh's complaint. IFSO (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations) unit or Cyber Crime Unit, is probing the matter. Initial investigations suggest that the fraud's planners might be based in Jharkhand's Jamtara region.

Officials believe the thieves may have performed a "SIM swap." They might have called in to start the RTGS transfer and activate the OTP. They might have heard the OTP mentioned in an adjacent call's IVR (Interactive Voice Response).