Bengaluru woman duped online after opening 8 bank accounts

A 37-year-old woman from Kadugodi was allegedly duped by a group of online fraudsters who managed to access her bank account credentials. The victim Sai Meena KJ alleged that that a person posing as a doctor in the UK befriended her on social media in November 2020.He later requested her to open bank accounts in her name to allow a friend who had started business in India to use them. She opened eight accounts in her name since November 2020 in seven banks and later realized that the entire episode was a scam. Meena in her complaint said Benjamin, who was in touch with her through WhatsApp, claimed, his friend John will be coming to India as a contractor. “Benjamin requested me to open a few bank accounts for John. He assured me that they would help me by giving me a few dollars in return. I believed them as genuine and helped them,” Meena stated.

Meena had opened accounts in SBI, Kadugodi; Axis Bank, Hope Farm; two accounts in IDFC First Bank, Whitefield; Union Bank, HRBR Layout; Bank of Maharashtra, Seegehalli and Federal Bank, Channasandra. Later, she sent the documents and credentials of her accounts and Rs 90,000 to an address given to her by the gang a few months ago. She also helped one woman to open a bank account in Canara Bank, Kadugodi. A woman called Meena a few months ago and claimed to be a customs official at Delhi airport. The official said that one Arri Johnson had come to Delhi and was caught for not having valid documents and he was claiming that he was a friend of Meena. Meena, meanwhile, was shocked to receive a team from cybercrime vitims had transferred their money on orders from fraudsters who cheated them. It was then that Meena realized that the gang was misusing her accounts to receive money they had frauulently received from victims in Bengaluru and elsewhere in the country. Now the cops are investigating whether Arri Johnson and John are the same.