Hyderabad pensioner loses all her retirement benefits to scammers posing as TRAI agents

A 74-year-old pensioner was duped to the tune of ₹37.90 lakh by scammers posing as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) agents. The Hyderabad cybercrime police have registered a case.

The police said the woman received a call from a person claiming to be from the Andheri police station in Mumbai. “The scammers told her that her phone number was linked to an FIR for sending harassing messages and advertisements. They threatened to deactivate all her mobile numbers linked to her Aadhaar card within 24 hours through the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI),” said the police.

“The scammers shared fabricated documents, including fake letters from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), claiming her bank account was involved in illegal money laundering linked to Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways,” added the police.

The scammers, posing as a ‘secret agency,’ pressured the victim into revealing her bank details, threatening to freeze her accounts and even arrest her if she refused. “They further manipulated her by promising a return on her investment if she deposited her funds into an RBI account. “Under pressure, the woman withdrew her fixed deposit, which represented her pension benefits, and transferred ₹37.90 lakh via RTGS,” explained the police.

The cybercrime police advised the public to immediately call the National Cyber Crime helpline at 1930 or register a case on cybercrime.gov.in. for immediate assistance in such cases.