A Sunsari resident, Shivanandan Mehta, reports that hackers stole a total of 10 lakh 10 thousand rupees (approximately $8,000 USD) from his and his mother’s bank accounts linked to a Connect IPS service. The initial theft of 100,000 rupees occurred over multiple small deductions. Mehta discovered the crime the following day and found that an additional 9 lakh 10 thousand rupees had been stolen from his account.
Mehta has filed a complaint with the Sunsari district police and the police cyber bureau. Investigations reveal that funds from Mehta’s mother’s account (housed at Lumbini Bikas Bank Inaruwa) were transferred to an offshore Soft-Tech Pvt Ltd, in Kathmandu. Further investigation shows that the stolen money from Mehta’s account was then transferred to a Sunrise Bank account owned by Pareshwar Thapa.
Offshore Soft-Tech Pvt Ltd maintains that their account was also hacked and that funds transferred to them were subsequently diverted to the same individual, Pareshwar Thapa Chhetri.
The Cyber Bureau reports that the hack originated from a US location using a VPN. Mehta expresses frustration with the police response, feeling that the investigation is not being prioritized. He believes the bank could have prevented further losses if they had acted more quickly, emphasizing the dire financial situation the theft has created.
Online Khabar covered this story in Nepali.
Update: The title has been updated to reflect the content of the story.
