Cyber cons dupe retd govt employee of ₹13L

Lucknow: Cyber cons posing as pension department officials allegedly duped a retired govt employee of Rs 12.94 lakh, nearly his entire retirement corpus. On discovering the loss, he suffered a paralytic stroke, police said.

The case was registered after his daughter filed a complaint with the office of the deputy commissioner of police (crime).

According to police, the victim, who took voluntary retirement in Aug 2025, received a WhatsApp message on March 19, 2026, from an unknown number claiming to be from the Govt of India’s pension department. The message included a purported official letter stating that around Rs 14 lakh was due to him.

Believing the message to be genuine as it matched his expected retirement dues, the victim engaged with the sender. After his pension amount was credited to his account, the fraudsters contacted him again, claiming an additional Rs 2 lakh could be released after verification.

During the interaction, the caller sought a one-time password (OTP) to “process” the payment. Trusting the caller, a family member shared the OTP. Within minutes, multiple unauthorised transactions were carried out, siphoning off Rs 12.94 lakh from the victim’s account.

Police said the fraudsters executed successive online transfers, effectively wiping out the victim’s savings before he could react.

Family members said the victim, who was already unwell, went into shock upon learning about the fraud and suffered a paralytic stroke, leaving him partially paralysed with impaired speech. He is currently unable to pursue the case, prompting his daughter to approach the police.

The family submitted bank statements, transaction details, the fake document received on WhatsApp, and a complaint filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.

Police have launched an investigation and are analysing transaction trails, suspect mobile numbers, and beneficiary accounts. Efforts are underway to freeze any remaining funds.