Ms Mani believes that the scammers exploited the app to access her phone
A woman named Bhargavi Mani recently fell victim to a scam at Bengaluru International Airport while attempting to access a lounge before her flight. In a viral video, Ms Mani shared that she was not carrying her physical credit card and showed a photo of it to the lounge staff. They directed her to download an app and complete a facial scan, supposedly for security purposes. However, this turned out to be a scam to steal her personal information.
Ms. Mani downloaded the “Lounge Pass” app but never used the lounge, opting instead for a coffee at Starbucks. Later, she noticed she was unable to receive calls on her phone, initially thinking it was a network issue. However, she soon realized something was wrong when strangers began answering her calls.
Upon investigating, she found that over Rs 87,000 had been fraudulently charged to her credit card and transferred to a PhonePay account. She suspects the scammers used the app to access her phone, redirect calls, and intercept OTPs for unauthorized transactions.
In a new video, Ms Mani clarified that at no point did she blame Bengaluru International Airport or its authorities. She also mentioned that the airport authorities have reached out to her and are actively assisting her with the situation. She has since reported the incident to the cybercrime department, notified her bank, and blocked her card.
Watch the video here:
In a separate incident, 59 individuals in Hong Kong fell victim to a naked video chat scam, losing over Rs 2 crore. According to the police, the victims were honey-trapped by online extortionists who convinced them to undress during video calls. The scammers then used the footage to blackmail the victims, demanding payments totalling more than HK$1.9 million (over Rs 2 crore) to prevent the private videos from being leaked online or sent to their families. The Hong Kong police have issued a warning, urging people to be vigilant against such scams.
