Mumbai: A sitting judge of the Bombay High Court has filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police after allegedly losing Rs 6.02 lakh in an online credit card fraud. The judge lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown persons who allegedly posed as representatives of the credit card department of HDFC Bank and duped her during a reward points redemption process.
According to the complaint, the incident took place on February 28 when the judge attempted to contact the bank’s customer care through her mobile phone to redeem accumulated credit card reward points. However, the number could not be reached. She then searched online for another customer care number and contacted it.
During the interaction, the caller sent an 18 MB file related to credit card services via WhatsApp. Since the file could not be opened on her iPhone, the caller instructed her to insert the SIM card into an Android phone and open the file from there. The judge then used her domestic help’s Android phone, downloaded the file and filled out a form that required her credit card details to redeem the reward points.
Soon after, the fraudsters allegedly gained unauthorised access to her mobile device and misused the sensitive credit card information. As a result, a total of Rs 6.02 lakh was allegedly diverted from her credit card account.
Following the complaint, an FIR has been registered against unknown persons under Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 66, 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act.
This is not the first such incident involving members of the judiciary. In December 2023, a retired chief justice of the Bombay High Court also lodged a cyber fraud complaint after reportedly losing nearly Rs 50,000 in a similar scam.
Online fraudsters often impersonate bank officials and trick victims into sharing sensitive information such as credit card details, OTPs, or downloading suspicious files. Banks, including HDFC Bank, repeatedly advise customers not to download unknown files or share confidential banking details over phone calls, messages or links. Users are also advised to verify customer care numbers only through official bank websites or apps to avoid falling victim to such cyber fraud.
