In a shocking cyber fraud incident, a school driver from Maradu, Kerala, lost nearly Rs 3 lakh from his bank account shortly after answering a silent phone call. The victim, Martin, had secured the money through loans and by pledging gold to purchase a vehicle from Delhi to start a side business to support his family.

While traveling to Delhi by train, Martin received a phone call from an unknown number. Upon answering, there was no voice on the other end, prompting him to disconnect the call. Within five minutes, he began receiving multiple One-Time Password (OTP) messages, and money was rapidly withdrawn from his Bank of India account in about ten consecutive transactions, starting with an initial deduction of Rs 1.06 lakh.

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Following the incident, Martin’s family blocked the bank account and lodged complaints with both the local police and the Cyber Cell, leading to the registration of an FIR. Preliminary tracking showed that the stolen funds were initially transferred to an Axis Bank account before being split and spent on various credit card bills, rent, and fuel purchases. The cyber police suspect that Martin’s phone was hacked, potentially after he shared his contact details on OLX while searching for vehicles.