Navi Mumbai: Conman uses Maths trick to get e-wallet PIN, siphons off Rs 88,421

Photo for representational purpose

A fraudster conned a Kamothe resident by using a Maths trick to obtain the PIN of his Google Pay ID.

The fraudster made the victim, Omkar Sawant, 24, subtract the four-digit PIN of his Google Pay ID from the last four digits of his bank account number, stated a report in The Times of India.

After the Kamothe resident shared the result of subtraction, the fraudster managed to deduce the PIN number and debited Rs 88,421 from his bank account in two online transactions.

The victim got conned after he contacted a mobile number that he found during an online search for the customer care number of an e-commerce site as he wanted to return a T-shirt.

In an FIR registered at Kamothe police station, Sawant stated that he purchased a T-shirt from an e-commerce site in January. As it was not of his size, he decided to return it. While looking for the e-commerce portal's customer care number on Google, he found a mobile number. When he contacted the number, the person claimed to be a representative. He said a cash refund would not be possible, but asked Sawant to share his Google Pay ID and the mobile number linked to it, claiming that the money would be credited to the bank account linked to his e-wallet.

He then used a math trick to obtain his PIN number and fraudulently debited Rs 72,900 and Rs 15,521 in two transactions.

Sawant then approached the bank where he has a savings account and submitted a dispute transaction form. The bank conducted an inquiry and sent a report to Sawant after a month with a remark stating ‘customer liability' and did not reimburse the cheating amount.

Hence, the victim lodged a complaint against the unidentified fraudster on February 15.