71-Year-Old Virar West Resident Duped of Rs 6 Lakh in SIR Cyber Fraud

A 71-year-old senior citizen residing in Agashi, Virar West, was duped of Rs 6 lakh by cyber fraudsters who targeted him under the pretext of verifying details for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon when the elderly complainant received a phone call from an unknown mobile number. The caller informed him that the SIR verification exercise was currently underway and claimed that official records showed a discrepancy between his name and his father's name.

To rectify the alleged error, the fraudster sent a link to the senior citizen and instructed him to make a nominal transfer of Rs 5. The complainant followed the directions and completed the payment. However, the caller claimed that the initial transaction had failed and instructed the victim to download a third-party mobile application onto his device.

After installing the application, the complainant entered his confidential banking details as directed by the caller. Shortly after submitting the information, Rs 6 lakh was siphoned off from his bank account in unauthorized transactions.

Realizing he had been cheated, the victim approached the Bolinj police station in Virar. Officers registered a case of fraud against an unidentified person and initiated an investigation into the matter.

According to police records, this marks the first cyber fraud case reported within the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police commissionerate that utilized the pretext of the Special Intensive Revision process to target victims.