While trying to make online payment for doctor’s appointment, woman duped of ₹2.18L

Noida: A woman was duped of more than ₹2 lakh by a fraudster posing as hospital staff while trying to book a doctor’s appointment on Monday, Gautam Budh Nagar police said.

The woman got the number of the doctor’s private clinic through an internet search. She called the number and the suspect said that he books appointments. He asked the woman to pay the consultation fee online through a payment link. As she tried to make the payment, ₹2.18 lakh was deducted from her account, police said.

A case was registered at Sector 20 police station in connection with the fraud, police added.

Complainant Sushil Kumar, a resident of Sector 21, told police that his wife was unwell. She took the number of a private hospital from the internet to book an appointment with the doctor. The person receiving the call introduced himself as an employee of the hospital and he told her that an online fee would



have to be paid for taking the appointment. He then sent a link on her mobile phone.

“The fraudster told my wife to click the link to make the online payment. As soon as she clicked on the link, her mobile got hacked and the fraudster got access to her bank accounts. The fraud was detected after she got transaction messages on her mobile phone stating ₹2.18 lakh was deducted from her bank account,” the complainant told police.

The woman immediately called the bank and got her account blocked. Later, she told her family members about the incident and they registered a police complaint.

“A case has been registered against unidentified suspects. We are trying to get the account details and mobile phone numbers used by the fraudster. Investigation is underway and the suspects will be nabbed at the earliest,” said Manoj Kumar, station house officer (SHO), Sector 20 police station.