In another distressing incident of an online scam, an 83-year-old retired government official from Kolkata fell victim, losing Rs 2.5 lakh. The victim, named S.P. Sinha, residing in Thakurpukur, had diligently visited his bank branch for all transactions and information until one day when an apparent call from the bank made him lose his life savings.
The fraudulent scheme unfolded when Sinha received a call from an individual claiming to be situated at “table number 3” of the very branch where Sinha held his pension account, reports Metro. The caller asserted that he was reaching out to verify Sinha’s KYC (know your customer) details online. Since Sinha had been visiting the bank and the same table for his work, he got convinced and agreed to follow the caller’s instructions to update his KYC online.
“On November 11 (the day before Diwali), I received a call in the afternoon. The man said he was calling from the bank (the branch where Sinha has his pension account). He also mentioned my account number. When I said the bank was closed that day, he said only the ‘verification’ section was open and that I needed to update my KYC,” Sinha told the publication.
However, he eventually started facing difficulties in the process as everything was technical on the mobile. Trusting the caller’s legitimacy, Sinha handed over the phone to his 11-year-old grandson, assuming the younger generation might navigate the online procedures more adeptly. However, the call ended with Sinha discovering a staggering debit of Rs 2,57,650 from his account, along with a loss of access to his fixed deposits and recurring deposits.
