A Chennai-based communication designer lost over INR 87,000 (USD 1,034) after she fell victim to a scam at Bengaluru International Airport recently. Bhargavi Mani shared screenshots of the scam on social media and narrated her ordeal. As per Mani, she was scammed while attempting to access a lounge before her flight.
She said she was not carrying her physical credit card, but showed a photo of it to the lounge staff on September 29. As per her, Mani was asked to download a ‘lounge pass’ app and complete the registration with a facial scan.
After completing the process, Mani didn’t use the lounge and instead opted for a coffee elsewhere. Soon enough, she realised that she was not able to use her phone for calls. Initially she though of it as a network issue, but realised it to be another problem when strangers began answering her calls.
This led to her investigating and finally discovering the fraud. According to Mani, money from her credit card was transferred to a PhonePay account. Mani said she had not received any calls or OTP as her number was accessed from elsewhere by the scammers. She blocked her card and registered a complaint with cyber security.
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As soon as the video went viral, Mani posted another one to clarify several issues. She said she was tired on the day of the incident and that led to her overlooking several things.
Mani also said that she didn’t blame any authorities, including the Bengaluru Airport, for the fraud, and added that airport security, the bank and cyber security officials were in touch with her to help her out in the case. She also said that the video was intended to educate others about such scams.
