Two Accused in Fraud Case of Rs 2.5 Million

Kathmandu. Sujan Khanal of Kathmandu lost Rs 2.5441 million when he clicked on a suspicious link received on his mobile. The Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police has filed a charge sheet against two persons in court on charges of involvement in the incident.

Based on the police investigation, the District Government Attorney's Office Kathmandu has filed a case against Akashkumar Paswan, 20, of Saptari and Chandeshwar Mahato, 23, of Siraha as defendants. They are currently absconding. A case has been filed against them under the offense of fraud as per the Muluki Criminal Code, 2074. If convicted, they could face up to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 70,000. Compensation to the victim is also demanded. The court has initiated the process to issue an arrest warrant for both absconding defendants.

Amount Disappeared From Account Like This

On June 12, 2082, victim Khanal received a message (SMS) on his mobile from 'THE_ALERT'. It read: "Your Connect IPS account has been blocked for security reasons, click on this link (https://rb.gy/o4u15m) and fill in the details to activate it." Believing the message to be official, Khanal clicked the link and entered his banking details. Although he canceled the process later when he became suspicious, by then the hackers had gained unauthorized access to his 'Connect IPS'. While Khanal was sleeping at night, the hackers transferred money from his two bank accounts. Initially, Rs 100 was sent to Akashkumar Paswan's Nepal SBI Bank account from Rastriya Banijya Bank and Nabil Bank as a test, and later Rs 11.741 million was sent in installments. On the morning of June 13, Rs 1.37 million was transferred again from Khanal's Rastriya Banijya Bank account to Chandeshwar Mahato's Laxmi Sunrise Bank account. Only when he opened his mobile the next morning did Khanal realize that a total of Rs 2.5441 million had been stolen from his account.