Bengaluru: A Rs 10-lakh insurance payout turned out to be a bait, and a 45-year-old man lost more than Rs 1 crore as fraudsters kept luring him with one offer or another and, sometimes, sweetening the deal with token deposits in his bank account. A year later, the man learnt he had been cheated.According to a complaint filed by Ajay (name changed), a private firm employee from CV Raman Nagar, the fraudsters lured him with an insurance call in Aug 2025. As the victim already had a health policy, the fraudster told him he was eligible for a Rs 10-lakh payout and spiced up with the story on how he had become eligible for it.The fraudster introduced a second fraudster, Vijetha Singh, posing as an employee of the bank where the victim had an account. He reportedly told the victim that he needed to pay Rs 1 lakh in transaction charges to receive the large payout.When the victim sought clarification, the fraudsters came up with another excuse, claiming the policy had been locked with the insurance agent code and that they had removed it, and that he would have to pay an additional Rs 1.9 lakh. Believing their claims, the victim started making payments and received purported letters from the bank.The fraudsters started convincing him to invest more money by sending fake letters. They created an account in his name on a trading platform and made him register it. Trusting them, the victim started transferring money from his other bank account to multiple bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. When he was unable to withdraw money, he realised he had been duped.On July 30, he called the cyber helpline 1930 and complained about losing Rs 1.07 crore. On Aug 8, he lodged a complaint. The police team, in coordination with bank officials, is making efforts to freeze the mule bank accounts of the fraudsters.
