Now Reading: 77-year-old loses Rs 4.98 lakh in fake SIR data fraud
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77-year-old loses Rs 4.98 lakh in fake SIR data fraud
A 77-year-old man from Wadgaon Budruk in Pune was duped of Rs 4.98 lakh after a fraudster posing as an Election Commission official claimed a mismatch in his SIR voter data. The…
The Story in Brief
A 77-year-old man from Wadgaon Budruk in Pune was duped of Rs 4.98 lakh after a fraudster posing as an Election Commission official claimed a mismatch in his SIR voter data. The caller sent APK files and asked for a Rs 5 payment to update details. The victim's money was debited in three transactions totalling Rs 4,98,008. His son blocked the accounts and reported the incident.
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau has warned citizens against such scams. Fraudsters send fake messages on WhatsApp about SIR application rejections, and demand a nominal Rs 5 payment to steal banking credentials. The bureau clarified that the SIR process is free and the Election Commission never charges a fee.
The Indian Opinion
These frauds succeed not because victims are careless, but because scammers mimic official processes. The Rs 5 payment trick is a clever low-trust hook. Lazy narratives blaming the elderly ignore that anyone could fall for a call that cites a real government exercise like SIR. The Telangana advisory is welcome, but enforcement is what matters. Watch for whether banks and the Election Commission coordinate to flag such unusual transactions early.
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
