Elderly Bengaluru man duped of ₹80.5 lakh by impersonating scammers: Report

A 74-year-old Bengaluru resident fell victim to a sophisticated scam, losing ₹80.5 lakh to fraudsters posing as police officers and RBI officials.

A 74-year-old Bengaluru resident has reported losing an astonishing ₹80.5 lakh to a group of con artists who allegedly impersonated senior police officers and officials from the Reserve Bank of India. The elaborate ruse unfolded over several days, leaving both the man and his sister trapped in fear and confusion.

The con artists manipulated the elderly man from Bengaluru and his sister into believing they were involved in illegal transactions, leading to multiple coerced financial transfers. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

As per the complaint, the ordeal began on October 30 when the victim received a WhatsApp call from someone claiming to work for a Deputy Commissioner of Police, said a report by the NDTV. The caller confidently recited the elderly man’s Aadhaar details and bank information, insisting that funds in his and his sister’s accounts were linked to illegal transactions.

The fraudster “warned” that the RBI needed to “verify” this money immediately, hinting at dire consequences if he failed to cooperate.

Panicked, the man disclosed his financial information.

Soon after, he was pressured into prematurely closing a Post Office fixed deposit worth ₹30 lakh. The following day, under continued threats, he transferred another ₹35 lakh to bank accounts dictated by the callers, said the report.

The deception intensified as the scammers began reaching out from various Indian and international numbers.

They allegedly instructed the siblings to stay indoors, avoid speaking to anyone, and comply quietly, claiming the authorities were “monitoring” them and could arrest them at any moment.

By November 3, the victim’s sister also surrendered to the intimidation.

She liquidated her own Post Office deposit and moved the funds to her SBI account. The next morning, the fraudsters coerced her into transferring ₹16 lakh and ₹19 lakh to two different accounts, the report stated.

The final blow came on November 10, when another ₹10.5 lakh was siphoned from the man’s ICICI account into a Canara Bank account already used earlier by the fraudsters.

Their fear-driven silence finally broke on November 29, when another WhatsApp caller directed the man to report to a police station. Realising something was gravely wrong, he approached the authorities and lodged a formal complaint.

Police have now filed a case and are working to identify the individuals behind the international scam network.

HT.com has not independently verified the authenticity of this information.