A 81-year-old retired Junior Engineer from the Railway Department was allegedly cheated of nearly ₹26 lakh by an unidentified cyber fraudster who posed as an authorised bank representative. The incident came to light in the Mumbai Central area, following which the Central Cyber Regional Police has registered a case under cheating and relevant IT Act provisions.
According to police, the complainant, a resident of Mumbai Central and a retired Junior Engineer from the North Railway Division, received a phone call on 12 November from a person claiming to be from the bank’s Life Certificate Update Department. A short while later, the caller also made a video call, impersonating an official bank representative and falsely informing the senior citizen that his life certificate had been cancelled.
Using the pretext of verification, the fraudster attempted to obtain the senior citizen’s debit card number and PIN. However, the complainant refused to share the details and switched off his phone after suspecting foul play.
When he switched the phone back on an hour later, he noticed multiple bank messages. Investigation revealed that the fraudster had managed to carry out eight online transactions, transferring close to ₹26 lakh from the victim’s account into various other bank accounts.
Realising the fraud, the senior citizen immediately contacted the cyber helpline. He later visited the Central Cyber Regional Police Station and provided a detailed complaint. Based on his statement, the police registered a case against the unknown cyber fraudster.
Police officials said they are now tracing the holders of the eight bank accounts into which the money was transferred, and a probe is underway to identify and nab the cyber criminals involved.