Fraudulent OTP Call Costs Businessman Tk 8.4 Lakh, Ring Leader Arrested

A fraud ring posing as bank customer care agents scammed a businessman out of Tk 8.4 lakh by tricking him into revealing a one-time password (OTP) over the phone. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested Ruhul Amin, 42, the alleged mastermind behind the operation.

According to CID, Ruhul Amin, a resident of Charbhadrasan in Faridpur, leads a fraud syndicate that deceives people in similar ways to extract large sums of money.

Quoting the complaint filed by the victim, CID’s Special Superintendent of Police (Media), Jasim Uddin Khan, said the victim held an account with the Mouchak branch of a private bank in Dhaka. On March 24, while the businessman was at Moghbazar intersection, he received a phone call from an unknown individual identifying himself as a representative of the bank’s customer care department. The caller informed him that some money would be added to his account and that an OTP would be sent to his mobile number. The businessman was then asked to share the OTP.

In a press release issued on Wednesday, CID stated that the businessman, believing the call to be legitimate, provided the OTP as instructed. Subsequently, through multiple transactions, the fraudsters siphoned off a total of Tk 8.4 lakh from various accounts held by the victim.

Following the incident, the victim lodged a complaint with Ramna Model Police Station. The case was then assigned to CID for further investigation. CID’s Dhaka Metro South unit launched a technical and intelligence-based operation to identify and locate the perpetrators. Ruhul Amin was identified as a key suspect and arrested from Faridpur at around 9:00 am with the assistance of the district police.

CID confirmed that the process of presenting the accused before court is underway. Efforts to arrest other members of the fraud ring are ongoing.