Thrippunithura: A 72-year-old man lost Rs 7.7 lakh after cyber fraudsters allegedly targeted him with a fake message about discrepancies in his Special Intensive Revision (SIR) records and tricked him into sharing his banking details.
The victim, identified as Parameswaran Nair, a resident of Eroor West in Thrippunithura, lost the money from two bank accounts on October 30. The accounts were maintained at a private bank’s Vadakkekotta branch.
According to the complaint, the fraud began with an SMS informing Nair that his name did not match his father’s name in the SIR records. The message also instructed him to contact the Election Commission office to resolve the alleged discrepancy.
The fraudsters later contacted him through WhatsApp, posing as officials who could help correct his details. They sent him a malicious link titled ‘Form for correcting name’ and demanded a payment of Rs 10 to process the correction.
When Nair expressed his inability to make the payment, the callers offered to complete the process on his behalf. During the interaction, they allegedly obtained his bank account information and ATM card details.
The fraud resulted in a total loss of Rs 7.7 lakh. While Rs 3.2 lakh was withdrawn from one account, another Rs 4.5 lakh was siphoned off from his second account.
Hill Palace Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation into the incident.
The incident highlights how cybercriminals are exploiting public awareness of electoral revision exercises to deceive citizens. People are advised to verify messages claiming to be from election authorities through official channels and avoid sharing banking credentials or clicking on suspicious links.
