Mumbai: Criminal lawyer loses Rs 6.5 lakh to electricity bill fraud

Cops have also been urging citizens not to respond to random messages threatening electricity disconnection over bills. Representation pic

A 66-year-old criminal lawyer from Borivli West who practises in the Bombay High Court lost Rs 6.5 lakh after responding to a call claiming that his electricity supply would be disconnected over pending bills. Sadanand Shetty told mid-day that he has dealt with many criminal cases but himself became the victim of a con, pointing to the irony. Shetty, who also works with a law firm, filed a complaint with the MHB police after he lost the money on the night of June 25.

"Last Thursday, my wife received a message that said our electricity bill was pending and if we did not pay it, our electricity supply will be disconnected. We ignored the message, but on Saturday morning we received a call from 9163563648 and the caller said he was an officer from the power company. He told me that our light bill was not updated and I had to update it. The caller told me to install QUICK SUPPORT APPLICATION on my phone and do a recharge of Rs 11," Shetty told mid-day. A popular caller-identification app showed the name linked to the mobile number as "Electricity Office".

Shetty then got the shock of life. "I told the caller that the app was not supporting my debit or credit card. While talking to me, he took the card details and withdrew Rs 6,44,159, including Rs 98,000 from my debit card. I immediately blocked the cards and informed the bank about this incident," said Shetty. Based on his complaint, an FIR has been registered against the unknown scamster. "I request people not to respond to such calls and messages," said Shetty.

A police officer said they have registered a case under Section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and under the IT Act. "We are taking help from the cyber police to nab the scammer."

25 June
When Shetty lost the money to the online fraud