Elderly man loses ₹76.65 lakh to cyber fraud

A 70-year-old man in Bengaluru was allegedly duped of ₹76.65 lakh by cyber fraudsters over a period of nearly three weeks.

According to the East Division Cybercrime Police, R. Gokulchandran, a resident of C.V. Raman Nagar, in his complaint, alleged that he was “digitally arrested” by fraudsters who extorted ₹76.65 lakh from him over a period of nearly three weeks

The complainant stated that he first received a call on his landline from an unknown number on February 2. The caller claimed that a landline number was registered in his name and was allegedly being used for illegal activities. The caller introduced himself as Atul Kumar, claiming to be an employee with ID number 150989. He informed Gokulchandran that a complaint had been registered against him, citing a case number MH 1045/1025.

The caller later took his mobile number and contacted him via WhatsApp, claiming to be Sub-Inspector Uday Madhukar Patil from the Mumbai Police. During a video call, the fraudster allegedly accused him of involvement in money laundering, drug trafficking, and operating four illegal bank accounts.

Despite his repeated denials, the accused allegedly pressured him to transfer money to “verify” whether his funds were legitimate. The fraudsters also warned him not to share any details of the case with family members, claiming that doing so would interfere with the investigation.

Out of fear, on February 6, Gokulchandran transferred ₹47 lakh through RTGS to a bank account provided by the accused. The fraudsters continued to call him daily, posing as senior police officials and demanding further payments. He made three transactions totalling ₹76,65,000 between February 6 and 24.

It was only after he approached a nearby police station that he realised he had been cheated. He then lodged a formal complaint with the cybercrime police, seeking legal action against the accused and recovery of the defrauded amount.

A case has been registered based on the complaint. Officials have reiterated that no law enforcement agency conducts investigations or demands money through WhatsApp calls and have urged citizens to verify such claims before transferring funds.

Earlier this week, 60-year-old Vijayalakshmi from Cambridge Layout in Halasuru was allegedly duped of ₹1.16 crore by cyber fraudsters who posed as officials from telecom and law enforcement agencies and placed her under a so-called “digital arrest.” In another case reported last week, 64-year-old Shridharan Iyengar from Whitefield was allegedly duped of ₹16.6 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as Mumbai Police officials and threatened him with a fabricated terrorist and money laundering case.