71-year-old doctor loses ₹5 lakh in fake customer care scam - The HinduPublished - September 05, 2026 11:32 pm IST - BengaluruA 71-year-old doctor from Indiranagar lost ₹5 lakh after allegedly falling victim to a fake customer care scam while trying to return a shirt he ordered onlineAccording to the complaint filed with the East CEN Crime Police, the incident occurred on wednesday around 4.30 pm. The complainant said he searched for a customer care number on Google to process the return of a shirt.He contacted a mobile number . After the call was disconnected twice, a man identifying himself as Mahindra Pandit allegedly answered the third call and asked the doctor to provide his debit card details.The suspect later contacted him through WhatsApp and allegedly instructed him to follow certain steps. Unknowingly, the doctor followed the instructions, after which the fraudster allegedly gained control of his mobile phone.Within about five minutes, seven transactions totalling ₹5 lakh were made from his account. The victim reportedly received OTP alerts for the transactions but was unable to intervene as his phone was allegedly under the fraudster’s control.The East CEN Crime Police have registered a case and launched an investigation to identify the accused and trace the money transferred from the victim’s account.Published - September 05, 2026 11:32 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }