Woman, 76, Loses 43 Lakh, Scamsters Said Her Number Used In Pahalgam Plan

In yet another case of scamsters targeting senior citizens, a 76-year-old woman from Noida was duped of Rs 43 lakh after the fraudsters told her that her number had been used for funding of terrorist activities, including the Pahalgam attack that left 26 innocents dead.

Seventy-six-year-old Sarla Devi, a resident of Sector 41 in Noida, received a call from a man posing as a police officer. The caller told her that her details had been used to open bank accounts in Mumbai, and these were then used for terror funding, gambling and hawala transactions. She was also told that her phone number was used for funding terror activities, including the April 21 Pahalgam attack.

The caller told Sarla Devi that an arrest warrant had been issued in her name and that she must deposit a sum as security that will be returned once the investigation clears her.

Between July 20 and August 13, the elderly woman was sent QR codes to make payments to multiple bank accounts. She made eight such payments, totaling Rs 43.70 lakh.

The first transaction was of Rs 70,000 and the largest payment was of Rs 11 lakh. The bank accounts the payments were made to were in the name of Varinder Pal Singh, Madan Kumar, Manju General Store, and Ashapura Tea Stall, the investigators have found.

At one point, the woman was pressured to pay Rs 15 lakh, failing which she would be arrested. Smelling a rat, she consulted a lawyer and found that she had become a victim of digital fraud. She stopped making the payments and filed a police complaint.

According to police, the elderly woman has been traumatised by the fraud and has urged cops to ensure that her money is returned and the culprits receive tough punishment. The cybercrime wing of Noida police has registered a complaint and is now examining the transactions to track down those behind this fraud.

Cases of online fraud, such as digital arrest, are on the rise and elderly citizens have emerged as a key target for scamsters. Such people are not very savvy with technology and often panic in such situations. The scamsters then draw them deep into the trap and rob them of their life's savings.