Online financial fraud incidents continue to surge in Alwar district of Rajasthan, with cyber criminals adopting modern trickery to siphon off money from unsuspecting individuals. In recent cases, a retired bank manager and an Indian Army soldier posted at Itarana Cantt were targeted, losing a combined sum of 4.39 lakh rupees. Fraudsters exploited deceptive social media advertisements and fake customer care contact numbers retrieved from Google and YouTube to pull off the scams. Following complaints, the police have launched investigations and are scrutinizing all digital financial transaction records linked to the cases.
Fake Social Media Advertisement Traps Retired Bank Manager
According to the cyber police station, the first incident involves Ramavtar Agarwal, a retired bank manager residing in the Kala Kuan locality. In his report filed with the police, he stated that a sponsored advertisement displaying the official logo of Central Bank appeared on his social media feed. The advertisement claimed that a specialized Retirement Benefit Card was being issued exclusively for retired banking officials to access special perks. Enticed by the offer, he clicked on the link embedded in the advertisement, after which the scammer contacted him directly and forwarded a web link over WhatsApp asking him to complete a registration form.
As soon as Ramavtar Agarwal opened the link and entered his personal and banking credentials, the scammers remotely compromised his mobile device. Utilizing this unauthorized access, the fraudsters withdrew funds from his bank account in four consecutive transactions amounting to 73,000 rupees, 95,000 rupees, 30,000 rupees, and 95,000 rupees. In total, 2.83 lakh rupees were drained from his account. The victim realized he had been cheated only after receiving transaction alert messages on his phone. Upon informing his grandson, an examination of the device confirmed that his mobile phone had been hacked.
Searching Customer Care Contact on YouTube Costs Soldier Dearly
The second case involves Ashish Kumar Rai, a resident of North West Delhi who is currently posted at Itarana Cantt in Alwar. He submitted a formal complaint at the MIA police station detailing his ordeal. Rai had previously obtained a personal loan through an online financial application and accidentally remitted a monthly installment twice. Seeking a refund for the duplicate payment, he searched YouTube for the customer care contact number of the loan service provider. When he dialed the number obtained from the platform, the individual on the other end posed as a legitimate customer support representative.
The imposter instructed the soldier to share an OTP under the pretext of initiating the refund transfer process. Once the soldier disclosed the OTP, the fraudster fraudulently processed a fresh loan of 1,56,861 rupees in the soldier's name using a finance loan app and siphoned the entire amount. Upon discovering the fraud, the victim immediately registered a grievance via the national cyber crime helpline 1930. Subsequently, a zero FIR was logged at SOG Jaipur, which was later transferred to the MIA police station for further investigation.
Police Investigation and Advisory Against Cyber Fraud
Police officers at the MIA station are currently examining the financial trails and account details connected to the fraudulent transactions to trace the culprits. Meanwhile, the cyber police issued a public advisory urging citizens to exercise extreme caution when navigating online platforms. Police authorities clarified that neither the government nor any commercial bank issues any official card named Retirement Benefit Card. Swindlers are fabricating such fake card schemes specifically to exploit retirees and pensioners. Authorities strongly advised the public never to click on unverified social media advertisements or share sensitive banking credentials on unknown links.
