Elderly Man Loses ₹4.27 Lakh in Online Coin Scam

Quick Summary:

• A 74-year-old man from Ramnagar,Hyderabad was duped of ₹4.27 lakh through 28 UPI transactions in a fake coin resale scheme.
• The scam began with a Facebook ad claiming old coins could be sold for crores.
• The victim contacted the advertiser and was approached by an individual named Manoj Kumar and accomplices who claimed his coins where worth ₹72 lakh.
• Payments were demanded under pretexts such as registration fees, coin verification, RBI clearance certificates, travel and accommodation costs, and courier charges.
• Over six weeks (from February 14 to March 26), the victim transferred money as instructed but saw no returns or verification of promises made by the scammers.
• After completing payments,the accused became evasive and eventually threatened the victim when he insisted on receiving the promised amount of ₹72 lakh.
• Devastated financially after borrowing funds from relatives to make payments, he lodged a complaint with Hyderabad police’s cybercrime wing; an inquiry is ongoing.

Indian Opinion Analysis:
This incident highlights critical vulnerabilities in India’s cybersecurity landscape coupled with unchecked exploitation of digital payment systems like UPI among users unfamiliar with such platforms’ risks. Scammers appear to have capitalized on two human tendencies-greed for high-value gains coupled with trusting interactions via social media ads-to systematically defraud their target over several weeks without detection.With increasing penetration of digital platforms in even smaller towns across India like Ramnagar-a localized focus on awareness programs teaching basic online fraud prevention mechanisms becomes vital alongside broader institutional reform avoiding scams sophistication tags tighter inter-verification fields assuring daily UAE_Test stats меньше >30%०Fights fraudulent systemic loops >.< Regions.notes