Woman gets scammed of over Rs 5 lakh due to simple Google Search; two held in Jharkhand

Alongside deepfake calls and videos, scammers are using Google Ads to steal money from people online sitting miles away from them. In a recent case, a Delhi woman, searched for the customer care number of Punjab National Bank on Google and called the mobile number that appeared on the website. The person on the other side of the line asked her to download an app that helped him steal over Rs 5 lakh from her account, reported IANS.

As per an official statement by Deputy Commissioner of Police, “The alleged person advised her to download Rust Desk App and took access of her phone and account related information. Later, a total amount of Rs 5,45,000 was debited from her Canara Bank account.”

Rajana Kaul, a resident of Vasant Kunj, filed a complaint on August 9 last year. The police investigated by checking the details of the beneficiary of the concerned transaction. The DCP further revealed, “On analysis, it was found that the cheated money from all beneficiary bank accounts was withdrawn from the ATMs in Deoghar. A total money trail of Rs 15 lakh was found in alleged bank accounts and on checking on NCRP, total eight complaints were found linked to alleged calling number.”

After extensive surveillence, Mustaqeem Ansari (31), and Md. Rizwan Ansari (26), both residents of Deoghar district in Jharkhand, were arrested. The DCP stated, “Mustaqeem and Rizwan came in contact with one fraudster Md. Irfan Ansari and started cyber fraud on the pretext of customer care services by running ads on Google. They purchased bank accounts from different states and withdrew the cheated amount from ATMs in Deoghar, Jharkhand.”

How to safeguard yourself from such Google Ad frauds

To stay safe from such scams, make sure that you always check from red flags in ads like grammatical errors and mismatched branding. Before clicking on a URL, check if the actual website address matches the advertised brand. Phishing ads often have slightly different URLs. In addition to this, don't download anything from an ad unless you're absolutely sure of its source.

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