Businessman, retired army officer duped of Rs12L in cyber frauds

A retired Colonel and a transport business owner lost Rs 4 lakh and Rs 8.24 lakh, respectively, in separate incidents of cyber fraud.

In the first case, Colonel Nathan Ram Dahiya (retd) on January 8 received a call from an individual claiming to be an employee of an insurance ombudsman office in Kolkata.

The caller assured him of resolving issues related to his insurance policies and requested payments via real-time gross settlement (RTGS) to facilitate the process. Trusting the promises, the Colonel transferred Rs 2 lakh on two consecutive days to the specified bank account.

When the funds were not credited back as assured and the caller became unreachable, the victim realised he had been defrauded and lodged a complaint with the cybercrime helpline.

In the second incident, a businessman from Ambala was deceived through a WhatsApp call in June 2024 when he was in Panchkula.

The caller impersonating his nephew living in Canada told him that he was in urgent need for funds for a medical emergency.

The fraudster convinced the victim to transfer Rs 90,000 and Rs 10,000 from two of his bank accounts. Besides, another Rs 6.74 lakh was arranged and transferred through acquaintances. It was only after contacting his real nephew the next day that the victim realised the fraud.

Separate cases have been registered and the police investigations are curently underway in both cases to trace the fraudsters.

The authorities have urged the public to remain cautious and verify financial requests made over phone calls or online platforms.