A 72-year-old woman from Kerala fell victim to an online scam and lost Rs 75 lakh.
The woman was targeted by fraudsters who deceived her into believing that her credit card had been blocked and that she was involved in a money laundering case.
The scammers escalated their deception by contacting the woman via video calls.
In a shocking incident, a 72-year-old woman from Kudappanakunnu, Thiruvananthapuram, fell victim to an online scam and lost Rs 75 lakh. The elderly woman, who was living alone, was targeted by fraudsters who deceived her into believing that her credit card had been blocked and that she was involved in a money laundering case.
The scam began when a person, claiming to be an officer from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), contacted the woman. He informed her that her credit card had been blocked due to security reasons, reports TOI. Following this, another fraudster posing as a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer called her, stating that a money laundering case had been filed against her. The woman, already panicked, was further intimidated when the fraudsters kept her under what they described as a “virtual arrest.”
The scammers escalated their deception by contacting the woman via video calls. They showed her a fake FIR and forged documents that appeared to be from the Supreme Court of India and the RBI. During these so-called online “interrogations,” the fraudsters pressured the woman to share all her bank account details.
Believing their lies, the woman provided her bank credentials, after which the scammers quickly transferred Rs 75 lakh from her accounts to their own. The fraudsters promised that the money would be returned to her, but they soon disappeared with the funds, leaving the woman in distress.
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The city cyber police have registered a case based on the woman’s complaint. The charges include cheating, personation, extortion, forgery, and fraudulent use of forged documents under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, along with section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
According to the police, the fraud occurred on August 23, but there was a delay in filing the complaint as the woman initially believed the scammers’ promise to return her money. Unfortunately, by the time she realized the truth, the fraudsters had already transferred the money to multiple accounts and vanished.
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Ayushi Jain
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