Karnataka woman loses Rs 2.92 lakh to cyber fraudsters

Mangaluru: A 40-year-old woman from Puttur has allegedly lost Rs 2.92 lakh to cyber fraudsters after believing them to be bank officials. She was in the false view that she was contacted by the branch manager of a bank branch situated on Court Road in Puttur regarding an EMI deduction issue.

In a complaint to the Surathkal Police, the woman said that she had availed a gold loan of Rs 2.94 lakh from the bank branch in Puttur on May 22, 2026. She had reportedly instructed the bank manager to deduct a monthly EMI of Rs 6,000 starting from June. However, Rs 6,000 was allegedly deducted from her account on the very same day the loan was sanctioned.

In an attempt to get the amount refunded, the complainant searched online for the phone number of the bank branch and contacted the branch manager. As the call was not answered, she disconnected it. Later, she received a call from mobile number from an unidentified person claiming to be the branch manager.

The caller allegedly instructed her to click on the “screen start” button, following which Rs 94,000 was debited from her account through UPI. During the same call, the fraudster reportedly asked her to open the bank app, assuring her that the deducted money would be refunded.

However, immediately after opening the app, another Rs 1.98 lakh was allegedly debited from her account.

In total, unidentified fraudsters allegedly transferred Rs 2.92 lakh from the complainant’s account to unknown accounts.