Biggest cyber fraud in Odisha: Retd Defence Officer duped of Rs 95 lakh

Bhubaneswar: A 61-year-old retired defence officer fell prey to a scam as the scamsters allegedly duped him of Rs 95 lakh with the promise of high returns on an insurance policy– the biggest cyber fraud reported in Odisha.

According to reports, the victim, a resident of the capital city who lodged a complaint with the Cyber Cell of the Odisha Crime Branch on January 3, had in January 2011 purchased an insurance policy worth Rs 6 lakh online.

He received multiple telephone calls from different persons in August 2015. They introduced themselves as officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), State Bank of India (SBI), Income Tax and Union Finance Ministry.

All of them asked him to pay money to liquidate the ‘agent bonus’ on his policy. They also assured him of hefty returns if he deposited the money.

Without verifying authenticity, the person started depositing money in the bank account number shared by the accused. After deposition of certain amount in the account, the scamsters used to ask him to transfer more money on the pretext of other purposes related to the policy.

Between August 2015 and recent time, the victim sent a whopping Rs 95 lakh to the account.

Police have registered a case under Sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged documents to be genuine), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (act done by several persons with a common intention) of the IPC and relevant sections of the IT Act.

Further investigation was underway.