Elderly man loses Rs 26 lakh in cyber fraud

Mumbai, Nov 19 (PTI) An 81-year-old city-based man was duped of nearly Rs 26 lakh by a cyber fraudster, who posed as a bank representative, a police official said here on Wednesday.

The complainant, a resident of Mumbai Central and a retired junior engineer from the Northern Railway, received a phone call on 12 November from a person claiming to be a representative of his bank. Shortly thereafter, he made a video call and falsely informed the victim that his life certificate has been cancelled.

On the pretext of verifying the details, the fraudster tried 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 after an hour, he found that he has received several messages from the bank. It was then found that the fraudster carried out eight online transactions and transferred close to Rs 26 lakh from the victim's account into various other bank accounts, the police said.

The senior citizen immediately contacted the cyber police helpline and lodged a complaint, they said. PTI ZA NP