Senior citizen loses ₹8.6L to con while trying to buy US dollars

Sunita Ravi, a senior citizen from Mulund, lost ₹8.6 lakh in a cyber scam while trying to buy US dollars for a trip to the US. Police have registered a case.

Mumbai: A senior citizen from Mulund fell victim to a cyber scam, losing ₹8.6 lakh while attempting to purchase US dollars for an upcoming trip to visit her daughter in the United States of America. Sunita Ravi, 69, along with her husband NK Ravi, 75, a retired insurance professional, had planned the trip together.

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According to the police complaint filed by Sunita, she searched for the contact details of her bank’s local branch online on March 20. “I was routed to a website, a popup appeared, and I immediately got a call from a person claiming to be the manager of the branch I was looking for. After discussing my requirements, he said it could all be done over the phone and I didn’t need to come to the branch,” the complainant told the police.

During the conversation, they discussed the conversion rate from rupees to dollars in detail. The caller then instructed Sunita to download an app named Zoho Assist Customer. Later, the caller contacted her again and obtained her bank and credit card details. Shortly after, Sunita received notification from her bank stating that ₹8.66 lakh had been debited from her account. It was then she realised that she had been deceived, as the person she spoke to was not an actual bank employee.