MANDI: In a daring attempt at cyber fraud, cybercriminals posing as government officials tried to siphon off nearly ₹8 lakh from the bank account of Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh.
Thanks to the swift action and alertness of Priya Chhabra, Branch Manager of UCO Bank’s Vidhan Sabha branch, the fraudulent transaction was blocked just in time.
The fraudsters called up the bank, identifying themselves as employees of the State Secretariat and demanded urgent details of the minister’s account.
Bank manager cross-checks from personal secretary
Claiming it was related to a critical official matter, they requested an immediate transfer of ₹7.85 lakh via RTGS.
Sensing something suspicious, Priya Chhabra chose to verify the call. She contacted the minister’s personal secretary, who confirmed that no such request had been made from the Secretariat.
Acting without delay, Chhabra halted the transaction and informed the Boileauganj police station. A case has now been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
The police are tracing the accused through call records. This isn’t the first time VIPs in Himachal Pradesh have been targeted by cybercriminals.
Over the past two years, several high-profile individuals, including retired bureaucrats, police officers and Army personnel, have fallen prey to scams involving impersonation, fake calls and phishing.
One retired officer was duped of ₹70 lakh
In one case, a retired administrative officer was duped of over ₹70 lakh by scammers pretending to be CBI officials. In another, a former police chief lost close to ₹80,000 after being tricked into downloading a malicious app.
Even a retired soldier wasn’t spared as he lost more than ₹60 lakh after being falsely accused of criminal activity by fraudsters posing as police officers.
Perhaps most shocking of all, over a thousand police personnel in the state were reportedly victims of a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme that caused losses worth crores.
These incidents reveal a disturbing pattern of cyber fraudsters are deliberately targeting those in trusted or influential positions.
Munish Sood
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