Ujjain residents lose Rs 1.72 lakh as scammers exploit fake links and card settings

Two Ujjain residents lost Rs 1.72 lakh in separate frauds involving a deceptive bank message and an unauthorised change to a credit card-linked mobile number.

Two residents of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh have lost a combined Rs 1.72 lakh in separate online frauds that police say relied on fake links, deceptive messages and unauthorised changes to payment details. The cases, both reported from areas along Dewas Road, have once again highlighted how quickly cyber criminals can turn a single click or a compromised account setting into a substantial loss.

According to the complaint filed by Dharmendra Bagwan, 33, of Nayapura Chandesari, he received a message at 1.45 pm on 14 August saying his bank balance was too low. The message included a link to a form and warned of action if he did not provide the requested information. After he clicked on it, Rs 41,000 was taken from his account, and he later filed a complaint on the cybercrime portal. Narwar police have registered a fraud case.

In a separate incident, Satish Parmar of Khajuria Rehwari said fraudsters altered the mobile number linked to his credit card and withdrew Rs 1.31 lakh. He became aware of the theft only after receiving a notification on his old number about the change, then contacted his bank to trace the transactions. Parmar told police he had not shared an OTP or his credit card password, and he said he did not know how the breach had been carried out.

The Free Press Journal reported that police have urged residents not to open links sent from unknown numbers and to avoid installing APK files shared through WhatsApp or other social media platforms. Business Standard has separately reported on a growing pattern of credit card scams in which fraudsters pose as bank staff and use fake links to harvest sensitive information, underscoring how these schemes increasingly mix social engineering with technical deception.