62-year-old retired bank manager loses ₹2.22 crore to multi-identity insurance fraud scam involving impersonation of finance ministry and NPCI officials over several months

Summary

A retired bank manager from Pune, India, lost Rs 2.22 crore after falling victim to a cyber fraud involving multiple insurance policies. The scam, which began at the end of 2023 and continued until recently, involved scammers impersonating government officials from agencies like the Ministry of Finance, IRDAI, and NPCI. The fraudsters convinced the 62-year-old victim to purchase insurance policies with promised high returns and repeatedly asked her to pay various fees, including GST, Income Tax, and transaction charges. The scammers operated under at least 19 different identities and manipulated the victim into making additional payments under the pretext of recovering lost funds. The victim lost her savings while being threatened and deceived by the fraudsters over several months. The case is currently under investigation.