Theft Becomes Cybercrime

Hyderabad:A theft incident became a cybercrime after the victim realised that he had lost a lot more money than just the mobile phone that was stolen. A 78-year-old retired employee filed a complaint with the Rachakonda cybercrime police on the money he lost as the payment gateway apps in his lost mobile were used by the culprit to withdraw money from his banks.

The police said the victim was travelling in an RTC bus when his mobile phone was stolen. He filed a complaint about this incident with the police. Later, the victim purchased a new mobile phone and installed payment gateway apps. Then he realised that he fell victim to cybercrime. A total of `2,31,000 was stolen from his three bank accounts in nine transactions by using his lost mobile phone.

Inspector G. Naresh Kumar said the investigation is in progress. The police will verify the transactions to see if the amount was transferred to other bank accounts or withdrawn. If the amount was transferred to other bank accounts, the information would be gathered and investigation would be done accordingly.