Kanpur: In a distressing incident of cyber fraud, a retired bank worker was cheated out of a massive Rs 2.52 crore over a period of just over a month. The retiree was lured with promises of substantial returns through investments in cryptocurrencies.
The victim even resorted to borrowing significant sums of money from family members in the hopes of reaping the rewards of these supposed investments.
It was only when the alleged scammer requested even more funds, while failing to deliver on any of the promised profits, that the former banker realized he had been taken advantage of and promptly filed a complaint with the cybercrime division of the police.
According to reports, Anil Singh Chauhan, a pensioner formerly employed by a bank and residing in the Azad Nagar area, specifically Signature Green KDA H Block, received an unsolicited message on his mobile device around July 15th from an unidentified woman. Upon calling the number, a woman identifying herself as Ira Reddy answered, claiming the message was sent unintentionally.
Subsequently, Ira Reddy initiated contact with Mr. Chauhan through various social media channels. The perpetrator even engaged in a video call, introducing a male accomplice presented as her brother.
Together, the pair reportedly enticed the retired employee with the allure of high-yield cryptocurrency investments.
On July 26th, the fraudsters instructed Mr. Chauhan to download a specific application and invest an initial sum of Rs 500,000. A few days later, he received a small dividend of Rs 10,000, seemingly validating the investment. This was followed by requests for further investments, including one for Rs 1 crore, to which he contributed Rs 500,000. The continuous requests for funds eventually amounted to Rs 2.52 crore by August 29th. Soon after, when the bank account details showed a large, unrealised profit, the retired banker attempted to make a withdrawal, but the female fraudster requested even more money. Realising it was a scam, he found the fraudsters number switched off and reported the crime.
After being defrauded, he lodged a formal complaint with the cybercrime police station.
Durgesh Mishra, the station in-charge, stated that an investigation is currently underway, and that formal communications, in the form of emails, have been dispatched to the financial institutions where the illicitly obtained funds were transferred. tnn