Retirees Duped in ₹16 Lakh Cyber Scam in Vizag
Visakhapatnam: Cyber fraudsters posing as government and bank officials allegedly cheated more than 10 retired and elderly persons in the city of over ₹16 lakh through fake retirement benefit and pension card schemes.
Police said the fraudsters targeted pensioners using malicious mobile applications, fake calls and fraudulent links to gain access to bank accounts and personal information.
In one incident, a retired Central government employee received a call from a person claiming to represent her former department. The caller informed her that pending retirement benefits were being processed and asked her to verify personal details.
Believing the claim to be genuine, the woman shared her Aadhaar, PAN and bank account details. She also disclosed OTPs received on her mobile phone.
The fraudster later sent her a link, claiming it would help release the remaining benefits. After she clicked on it, the fraudsters gained access to her mobile phone and withdrew more than ₹1.25 lakh from her account.
Police said several other retirees across Visakhapatnam lost between ₹1 lakh and ₹2 lakh each after downloading malicious Android Package Kit (APK) files disguised as official applications.
In another scam, elderly people came across online advertisements offering pension cards. After filling out online forms, they received calls from fraudsters posing as bank officials.
The callers asked them to download certain “certificates”, which actually contained malware. Once installed, the applications enabled the fraudsters to intercept OTPs and carry out unauthorised transactions from victims’ bank accounts.
Cybersecurity experts said fraudsters were increasingly designing fake applications and websites to resemble official platforms. Many such apps secretly collected sensitive information or allowed remote access to users’ devices.
Police advised the public, especially senior citizens, not to share OTPs, banking credentials or personal details through unsolicited calls, messages or links.
Officials also warned that fraudsters were carrying out similar scams using fake KYC updates, courier delivery alerts, Aadhaar verification requests, refund offers, credit card schemes and stock trading applications.