86-year-old loses ₹2.8 cr over 5 years to frauds

The frauds initially communicated with him via his land phone and later sent forged letters in the name of the government departments and police

MUMBAI: A retired government servant and bhajan tutor from Malabar Hill lost ₹2.85 crore over a period of five years to cyber frauds who initially took money from him under the guise of a government-backed investment scheme and later extracted more money claiming they were government/ police officers and were probing suspicious transactions undertaken by him.

86-year-old loses ₹2.8 cr over 5 years to frauds

The 86-year-old bhajan tutor transferred the money to the unidentified frauds via 98 online transactions between December 2019 and December 2024, said police. The frauds initially communicated with him via his land phone and later sent forged letters in the name of the government departments and police. The letters, in hard copy, bore the logo, name and seal of concerned departments and were sent via reputed courier companies – both instances are rare in cases of cyber fraud, said police.

“The victim worked in a government department earlier. He lives in Malabar Hill with his sister now and takes Bhajan classes,” said an officer from the cyber cell, where the first information report was registered on February 4.

The senior citizen first received a call from the frauds on his land phone in December 2019. The caller claimed he was from the Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS), a state government department dealing with grievances of citizens, and had received his file from the state government. The government was offering him a special scheme meant for senior citizens, through which he could invest ₹30,000 and get ₹1,50,000 as returns, the caller said.

“Trusting the bogus scheme, the 86-year-old initially transferred a small amount to the frauds, but made numerous transactions after that following further calls,” said the officer quoted earlier.

After the senior citizen transferred ₹43.50 lakh to the frauds, he received a letter sent through a reputed courier, saying that the amount credited to his investment account had reached ₹95.75 lakh.

The senior citizen was then asked via forged letters to pay multiple fees and charges to access the money, which he complied with, said police.

In February 2023, he received a letter, purportedly from the Income Tax (IT) department, saying he would have to pay 5% tax on the credited amount. In April 2024, he received another letter, purportedly from the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), saying he would have to pay 12.5% tax on the credited amount.

“He complied with the instructions in such letters, believing them to be genuine as he wanted to access the money,” said the officer.

In November 2024, he received one more letter, purportedly from the police, saying he had undertaken several suspicious transactions and action could be taken against him; in December 2024, he was asked to pay ₹45 lakh, which he complied with.

Thereafter, the senior citizen received another letter, purportedly from Kandivali police station, saying his property would be seized as he had undertaken suspicious transactions. While this letter shocked him, the next letter threatened him with arrest.

“This time, the 86-year-old discussed the matter with one of his bhajan students, who told him that it was a fraud. Despite this, the old man got scared and transferred ₹15 lakh to the frauds assuming they were police,” said the officer.

On January 3 this year, the senior citizen received yet another letter, saying all formalities like payment of stamp duty, various charges and fees were now complete and he would be getting ₹4.5 crore.

“Elated, he told this to his student, after which the student visited to house, explained to him that he had been defrauded and convinced him to visit the local police station,” said the officer.

The 86-year-old was then directed to the cyber police station, where a case was registered against unknown accused under sections 319 (2) (cheating by personation), 318 (4) (cheating), 336 (forgery), 61 (criminal conspiracy), 308(6) (extortion) and 340 (use of forged documents or electronic records) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and various sections of the Information Technology Act.

“It was only after we told him how such rings operated that he believed he had been defrauded,” said the officer.

Since the frauds used courier services, police tried to check for CCTV footage at various courier outlets from which the senior citizen received letters.

“But they don’t have CCTV footage from such a long time ago,” said the officer.