Bollywood actor and producer Aftab Shivdasani has reportedly lost Rs 1.50 lakh after he received an SMS in which he was asked to update his Know Your Customer (KYC) details linked to a leading private sector bank, police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place on Sunday and a case in this connection was registered the next day, an official of Bandra police station said.
“The actor received a message from a mobile number unknown to him. In the message, he was instructed to update his KYC details linked to the bank, failing which his account will be suspended. Shivdasani clicked on the link mentioned in the message. As he followed the instructions, he received a message that Rs 1,49,999 were debited from his account,” he said.
The actor then contacted the bank’s branch manager on Monday and based on his advice, he lodged a police complaint, the official further added.
A case under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 420 (cheating) and sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act was registered and further investigation was underway, he said.
This is not the first time actors have fallen for new-age cyber fraud. In 2022, veteran actor Annu Kapoor reportedly lost Rs 4.36 lakh in a KYC fraud. In 2016, Nargis Fakhri was conned and lost approximately Rs 6 lakh in an online credit card fraud.
In August, the Centre issued a warning regarding “fake emails” being received in the name of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is responsible for monitoring cyber crime across the country. These emails are targeted at individuals and falsely accuse them of cyber crimes, urging them to respond.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) fact-check unit shared a sample of a fake email on its Twitter account. The email appears to be from the cyber crime agency’s administrator, and it concludes with the name of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), IPS officer Rajesh Kumar.
The email also instructs recipients to reply within 24 to 48 hours, or else they will face consequences. The government’s fact-checking unit, however, alerted the public to this deception.
The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) is an initiative under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) aimed at addressing cyber crime in the country through coordinated and comprehensive measures. Since its launch on October 5, 2018, it has focused on “strengthening the nation’s collective ability to combat cybercrimes” and fostering effective coordination among Law Enforcement Agencies.
The National Cyber Crime Reporting portal is an Indian government initiative that allows victims or complainants to report cybercrime incidents online.
(With PTI inputs)
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