Cyber fraud in Chandigarh: Woman loses ₹8L from fixed deposit

A local woman lost ₹8 lakh from her fixed deposit account after falling prey to an online fraud. The victim, identified as Shukla Mahajan, resident of Sector 39-B, Chandigarh,lodged a complaint with the police after unauthorised transactions were detected from her account.

According to the complaint filed on February 28, 2025, Mahajan received a suspicious message on her mobile phone, informing her that ₹2 lakh had been debited from her bank account. Initially assuming it to be a mistake, she ignored the message. However, she and her husband rushed to their bank, as they received two more OTPs indicating additional unauthorised debits of ₹2 lakh each. In total, ₹8 lakh was fraudulently withdrawn from her fixed deposit, originally due to mature in 2026.

Upon reaching the bank, officials immediately froze her account, saving the remaining balance. Mahajan approached the cyber cell and filed an official complaint, seeking action against the unknown accused and recovery of her lost funds.

After preliminary inquiry, a case has been registered at the concerned police station under Sections 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 340(2) (forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.