Imagine getting a call from someone claiming to offer you a helpful new service, only to realise later that it was all part of a scam. This is exactly what happened to Rajendra Singh, a 69-year-old retired Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) general manager from Ludhiana, who lost Rs 14.9 lakh in a sophisticated cyber fraud.
Rajendra Singh, a resident of Urban Estate Phase-II in Dugri, fell victim to scammers posing as representatives of ONGC’s retired employee cell. The incident began on January 7, when Singh received a call from a man who identified himself as “Kuldeep Srivastava” from ONGC’s Dehradun office. The caller claimed to be offering a new “smart health card” for retired employees and asked Singh to fill out an online form and pay a token fee of just Rs 10.
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Trusting the caller, Singh followed the instructions, shared his bank details, and made the small payment from a joint account he held with his wife. However, he soon realised something was unusual and rushed to his bank to secure his account by creating a fixed deposit. Despite his quick action, the next morning, he received a shocking message that Rs 14.93 lakh had been withdrawn from his account.
The bank later confirmed that the scammers had successfully transferred Rs 14.93 lakh to their account. Thankfully, an additional attempt to steal Rs 4.95 lakh was blocked.
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