Woman falls victim to fraudulent transactions as she attempted to use Bengaluru airport lounge
A woman fell victim to a scam at Bengaluru Airport during her attempt to use a lounge before her flight.
As she did not have her physical credit card, she showed a photo of it to gain entry and which is when the lounge staff then directed her to download an app and complete a facial scan for security purposes.
Without any knowledge of the same, she fell victim to this was a ploy to gain access to her personal information.
After downloading the "Lounge Pass" app, the woman never used the lounge but instead grabbed a coffee at Starbucks.
However, she later noticed that she was unable to receive calls on her phone. Initially, she thought the same was due to network issues, but eventually realized that something was wrong when strangers were answering her calls.
Upon further investigation, she discovered that over Rs. 87,000 had been fraudulently charged to her credit card and transferred to a PhonePay account.
The woman said that the scammers exploited the app to access her phone, redirect her calls, and potentially intercept OTPs for unauthorized transactions.
This scam occurred inside the Bengaluru International Airport, to a person using an IPhone, which I regard as scam proof. Safeguard ur hard-earned money, folks! pic.twitter.com/dOlEg5kGGt
— Dr Jaison Philip. M.S., MCh (@Jasonphilip8) October 22, 2024
The woman has reported the incident to the cybercrime department, notified her bank, and blocked her card.