Ahmedabad: A police inspector, 45, posted with the Civil Defence Home Guards lost Rs 5.4 lakh to cyberfraudsters who posed as officials of an insurance company and promised to help her close insurance policies and recover maturity proceeds.The Memnagar resident lodged a complaint with Gujarat University police on Aug 27 against the callers and the holders of bank accounts into which she transferred the money.According to the complaint, the fraud began on Aug 11 when she received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be from the insurance company’s Delhi headquarters and accurately cited details of her two insurance policies. He alleged that an agent had filed a claim seeking 80% of the policy amount and warned that she risked losing a substantial sum.The caller then offered to register a complaint on her behalf and sent an acknowledgement number through a text message. The following day, another caller, claiming to be a manager, told her that she had paid Rs 10.8 lakh in premiums and had accumulated interest of Rs 8.7 lakh. He said a total of Rs 19.5 lakh could be returned if the policies were closed.To process the closure, the fraudsters first demanded Rs 99,227 as charges. The complainant transferred the amount in instalments through a QR code and bank transactions.On Aug 18, another caller allegedly sought Rs 4.4 lakh towards GST, assuring her that the amount would be refunded. She subsequently transferred Rs 50,000 through the QR code and another Rs 3.9 lakh through two bank transactions on Aug 19 and 20.On Aug 24, a caller claiming to be another insurance manager informed her that the policy value had increased to Rs 24.9 lakh and would soon be credited to her account. However, he later said she would have to open an insurance e-account and maintain Rs 5.1 lakh in it before the payment could be released.The fresh demand aroused suspicion, prompting her to contact the cybercrime helpline on Aug 25, where she received an acknowledgement of her complaint.
