Punjab: Retired bank employee loses Rs 43 lakh in cyber fraud after scammers pose as officials | Chandigarh News

BATHINDA: A retired bank employee from Moga was defrauded of Rs 43 lakh in a cyber fraud scheme, putting him under digital arrest. The money was transferred from various bank accounts over a year. Moga police have registered a case against unidentified persons.Seventy-two-year-old Darshan Singh, who retired from Punjab and Sind Bank, Moga, said that in August 2024, he received a call from an unknown mobile number. The caller identified himself as a customs official from Delhi Airport and claimed they had detected a parcel coming from Mumbai. Upon scanning the parcel, some passports and illegal drugs were found, and Darshan Singh’s mobile number was mentioned. The caller suggested settling the issue, or the case would be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI).Later, he was asked to talk to a CBI official identified as Mr Yadav, who repeated the allegations that customs had received the parcel containing banned substances. Mr Yadav sought various details of bank accounts and all deposits in the post office or elsewhere to check the details of money transfers. He warned that failing to do so would result in an FIR being lodged and arrest warrants being obtained.Mr Yadav further asked him to talk to another official, who was claimed to be senior to Yadav at the CBI office near Safdarjung. Darshan Singh said that when he expressed his intention to report the matter to the local police station, they advised him not to go there, threatening to tighten the noose further. They continued making video calls through WhatsApp.“In one of the calls, they asked for property details, mutual fund, and share market details, saying they needed to get these realised from the Reserve Bank of India to ensure no money was raised through Hawala. I provided them with details amounting to approximately Rs 43 lakh. They asked me to send the money in mutual funds and shares, which was nearly Rs 14 lakh, through RTGS. I sent the money, and in a couple of days, they sent a notarised certificate saying the money was realised and genuine. Upon receiving the notarised certificate, I felt somewhat relieved,” said Darshan Singh, speaking to TOI on Thursday.Darshan Singh said they sought his family details. When he told them that his son was settled in Canada and his daughter and wife were in the UK, and that he had to go to the UK in September 2024, they further threatened him. They said if he didn’t share more money, they would involve his son and daughter in the drugs case and forced him to transfer more money to them.In the meantime, he went to the UK and returned in December 2024. Upon his return, they contacted him again and made him transfer money from his three accounts in Punjab and Sind Bank, Union Bank, and HDFC Bank, Moga. The last transfer he made was of Rs 1 lakh in December 2024. They told him that the money would be transferred in nearly three months and later asked him to contact phone number 1930, which he later found out was the national helpline number for cyber crimes. It was then he realised he had been defrauded.After fully realising that he had become a victim of cyber fraud, Darshan Singh approached the Moga police, and an FIR was registered.