Retired BMC official loses ₹4.86 lakh to insurance fraud

According to the Charkop police, the complainant, a resident of Kandivli (West), had taken an insurance policy from a private bank in 2015.

In yet another instance of senior citizens being targeted by cyber-criminals, a 70-year-old retired licence inspector with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was conned of ₹4.86 lakh by fraudsters posing as insurance agents.

When he learned that he would have to pay the said amount annually, he approached the bank and terminated the policy. (HT image)

According to the Charkop police, the complainant, a resident of Kandivli (West), had taken an insurance policy from a private bank in 2015.

The agent, however, had lied and told him that he would have to make a onetime payment of ₹61,000.

When he learned that he would have to pay the said amount annually, he approached the bank and terminated the policy.

However, his personal details were leaked by the agent and the complainant started receiving phone calls from other insurance agents.

A cyber-fraudster, impersonating an agent, offered him an insurance policy with hefty returns and minimum premium.

The 70-year-old fell for the scam and ended up paying the fraudster ₹4.86 lakh between 2015 and 2019.

Earlier this month, the complainant’s son checked the bank alerts on money transactions and realized that his father was being duped.

The complainant then approached the Charkop police station on August 9 and a first information report (FIR) was registered against unknown persons under sections 419 (impersonation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 66D (impersonation using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.