Pune senior citizen loses Rs 33 lakh in cyber fraud after email IDs altered
A 67-year-old retired schoolteacher in Pune has lost her life savings of over Rs 33 lakh to cyber fraudsters who allegedly altered the email addresses linked to her bank accounts to steal the money. The victim, a resident of Paud Road, filed a First Information Report (FIR) at the Kothrud police station on July 17.
According to the FIR, the senior citizen holds three bank accounts with State Bank of India (SBI) and ICICI Bank to manage her pension. While her mobile number remained registered with the banks, the cyber criminals allegedly changed her registered email addresses without her knowledge, effectively blocking her from receiving transaction alerts.
In January, when the victim checked her mobile banking apps, all her fixed deposits were intact. However, between January 10 and 28, unidentified hackers reportedly breached her banking profiles, swapped her linked email IDs, and silently siphoned off Rs 33,31,555 through multiple online transactions.
The fraud came to light on July 1 when the victim, while filing her income tax return (ITR), reviewed her digital portfolio and discovered that all her fixed deposits had been liquidated. The next morning, she visited her SBI and ICICI bank branches. Bank officials examined her transaction statements and confirmed that the funds had been systematically broken down and withdrawn online over a two-week period in January.
The victim stated that she did not initiate any of the withdrawals and did not receive any SMS alerts or email notifications about the transactions. Upon checking her account profile, she found that her registered email addresses had been modified without her consent.
The Kothrud police registered a criminal case against the unidentified fraudsters under charges of cheating, cheating by personation, and common intention. Investigators suspect the use of advanced phishing or malware to compromise the victim's banking credentials. By substituting her registered email ID, the fraudsters intercepted transaction notifications and one-time passwords (OTPs), keeping the senior citizen unaware of the ongoing theft.
A specialised team has launched a technical investigation, tracking the beneficiary bank accounts into which the stolen amount was transferred.
