Online cyber fraud is at an all-time high, with approximately 12 lakh complaints registered in India during the first nine months of 2024. Alarmingly, 30% of these scams target retired individuals.
One such victim, a retired bank manager from Pune, lost her savings of ₹2.22 crores in the fake insurance policy scam.
Let’s get into the details to unfold this scam and what lesson this case left behind for all.
The Initial Contact: A Tempting Offer
It was March 2024, when the retired bank manager received a call from an unknown number. She picked up a call without any clue about how costly this call would be.
The person on the call introduced himself as a representative of one of the reputed insurance companies. He told her about the insurance policy worth ₹1 lakh promising exceptionally high maturity benefits.
He promised assured returns of around ₹3.5 lakh by Feb 2025. To make the policy look genuine he used the names of well-known personalities like Deendayal Upadhyaya, a late leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
This tactic, along with the trust she had in their promises, trapped here further in the scam.
The victim believed the offer was genuine and quickly agreed to invest. The scammer shared account details and after receiving the payment shared fabricated documents of policy to gain her trust.
The old lady didn’t realize that she had lost ₹1 lakh. However, the scam didn’t end there. After a month, she received another call.
The woman on the call further assured her by sharing the benefits of the policy. But at the same time, she asked her to pay certain taxes like GST, and NOC charges to claim the offer and benefit later.
Eager to secure her investment, she transferred ₹39.90 lakh to the provided account.
Entry of Savior, Who Turned Out to be a Scammer
By July, the victim received yet another call. This time from a person who seemed to be a savior to her. He told her that the money she transferred earlier had been credited to the scammers’ accounts.
He offered her help and assured her that he would recover the whole amount. For this, he asked her to pay fees of ₹12.30 lakh. Desperate & hopeful, she paid the fees.
The Disastrous End
October brought another blow when someone posing as an official from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) called. He told her that her policy return was worth ₹3.5 crore but to claim it, she needed to make further payments in cash. Trusting his words, she paid ₹3.2 lakh and ₹5.3 lakh.
But even after so many payments and calls when she didn’t get any clue of return, she reported the case to Cyber Crime. While reporting the case she said that to make payments she even took personal and gold loans.
Unfortunately, the reality was far from her expectations. The scammers disappeared, leaving her with massive debts and a crushed confidence.
Conclusion
This story underscores the importance of vigilance and being more cautious whenever you come across an offer that seems to be too good to be true.
Never forget that, fraudsters are always on the lookout for new victims. One needs to consider that no matter how convincing an offer may seem, take the time to verify. Protect yourself and your loved ones from falling prey to financial fraud
