Homemaker blows the whistle on Amitabh Bachchan-hosted 'Kaun Banega Crorepati fraud'

Advance fee fraud in the name of KBC is taking place in the city for the first time, say police

Puneites need to tread cautiously if they get any call informing that they have won lakhs of rupees as part of popular quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) and need to deposit a caution money to a certain bank account to claim the same.

One could easily fall prey to what the local police term an "advance fee fraud", believed to have surfaced first time in connection with the show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.

A 42-year-old alert homemaker, who did not wish to be named, shared with Newsline her recent experience of getting such a call, and how she foiled the cheating bid. "A few days ago, I got a call from a 14-digit number beginning with double zero. The man named Vijay Kumar congratulated me saying I have won Rs 10 lakh as a part of a lucky-draw played in KBC. The man said I am among the 50 lucky individuals across the country and need to deposit Rs 10,000 in a certain bank account," she said.

The woman, who received calls from other 14-digit mobile numbers for the next couple of days, said two other persons spoke to her on her cellphone, adding that they were aware about her personal bank account.

"I was not easily carried away by the luring talks of the alleged KBC team members. But I was shocked when I got to know that one of them was aware about my bank account details. He later sent me an account number of a nationalised bank and asked me to deposit money in favour of one Anuraj Singh Chauhan," she recalled.

Sensing trouble, she approached her bank, and also the other bank whose account number the miscreants had given her, to apprise the authorities concerned about a possible fraud.

... contd.

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