A 77-year-old woman from Hyderabad has fallen victim to an elaborate cyber fraud that led to the loss of nearly ₹1.8 crore over nine months, after scammers lured her with the promise of a ₹2 crore lottery prize using forged documents and impersonation.
She filed a complaint with Hyderabad cyber crime police earlier this week.
The fraud began in February when the woman received unsolicited WhatsApp calls claiming she had won an online lottery, according to the police. After initially ignoring them, she was contacted again by a caller posing as Mukesh Ambani, who persuaded her to share bank details to facilitate the transfer.
She told police that the fraudster asked her to activate net banking on her Indian Overseas Bank account and later demanded details of additional accounts, citing transfer limitations.
She said she was sent fabricated documents carrying her photograph and that of the Prime Minister, falsely claiming approval from the Reserve Bank of India. Subsequently, callers posing as RBI officials collected copies of Aadhaar and PAN cards belonging to her and her husband, photographs of debit cards, and gained remote access to her phone.
Between March and December, money was siphoned from four accounts — including those with State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, through 123 small transactions, which police believe helped evade detection. The fraudsters also convinced her to prematurely close fixed deposits.
The scam came to light when she discovered only ₹6,000 remaining in one account. Police have registered a case under provisions of the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and are investigating the matter.
