Noida: A 61-year-old retired government employee from Greater Noida allegedly lost ₹16.87 lakh after falling victim to a cyber fraud involving a fake life certificate advertisement on Facebook. Police suspect that malicious files downloaded through a fraudulent link enabled cybercriminals to carry out multiple unauthorised transactions from his bank accounts.
The victim, a resident of Surajpur, came across the advertisement on October 16. According to his complaint, the advertisement carried the logo of a nationalised bank and claimed to offer assistance with life certificate submission, a process commonly required by pensioners to continue receiving their benefits.
After clicking the link, the victim received a call from an unidentified mobile number at around 6:30 pm. The caller asked him to provide his date of birth and bank account number before instructing him to download a file and wait for 24 hours.
The victim subsequently noticed a suspicious message on his phone and suspected that the downloaded file was malicious. He deleted the files and checked his bank accounts. When the caller contacted him again through WhatsApp the following day, he attempted to secure his pension account by calling a helpline.
Despite his efforts, the victim continued receiving one-time passwords (OTPs) for financial transactions. Although he was assured that the necessary action had been taken, money was allegedly withdrawn from his credit card and other bank accounts. Even after blocking the credit card, further debits were reported from a joint account.
According to police, multiple transactions resulted in a total loss of ₹16.87 lakh.
The victim later lodged a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). A case of cheating under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act was registered at the Cybercrime Branch police station on Thursday.
The case highlights how fraudulent advertisements impersonating banks can expose pensioners to financial fraud. Authorities advise people to avoid downloading files from unverified links and never disclose sensitive banking information to unknown callers.
