Kannur: A 64-year-old man from Thiruvananthapuram has claimed he was swindled of Rs 56 lakh by a gang that pretended to be the CBI and Mumbai Police threatening to book him on fake charges.
The Thaliparamba Police have registered a case based on the complaint of S Ganesh Kumar, who was undergoing an Ayurveda treatment at a resort in Kannur when the incident pertaining to the case took place. The police believe an inter-state gang is behind the online fraud.
According to the complaint, the scammers told Ganesh Kumar that a SIM card in his name was misused for anti-national activities. They threatened to book him under provisions of the National Security Act.
Ganesh Kumar told the police that the scammers demanded money to let him off the case. He claims to have transferred the sum to various accounts in the Bank of Baroda and HDFC Bank between October 19 and 25.
On Friday, after he realised he had been scammed, Ganesh Kumar approached the local police with a complaint.
63-year-old man loses Rs 2 lakh
In another case, a native of Elayavoor here lost Rs 2.02 lakh to online fraudsters.
KP Sasidharan has said he lost the money after responding to a call that asked him to update KYC details. He downloaded a link they sent him to pay Rs 61 as a charge for the KYC updation. But soon received a message that Rs 2.02 lakh had been deducted from his bank account.
With increasing cases of cyber crimes, the police have urged the public to not respond to unsolicited calls, emails or text messages. Those who lose money to online fraud have been advised to dial 1930 to notify the police.
