Ahmedabad: A 75-year-old retired businessman from the city was allegedly duped of nearly Rs 19 lakh by fraudsters posing as officials associated with a life insurance company. They promised to help him claim an unclaimed insurance amount and pension benefits.According to the FIR filed with the Cybercrime police on Saturday, the victim said he first received a call in 2022 about insurance policies and was persuaded to purchase a new one. He later received policy documents and receipts by post, which made the transaction appear legitimate.The fraud escalated in April 2023, when a caller claiming to be an officer from a private bank’s life insurance division contacted him and directed him to another man who introduced himself as a “government insurance adviser” handling “unclaimed insurance funds”.The complainant said he was told he had Rs 25 lakh in reserve funds and was asked to deposit about 10% as processing charges. Trusting them, he transferred money through RTGS to multiple bank accounts provided by the accused.Another associate later advised him to invest the policy amount in an IPO, promising, “You will get a monthly pension of about Rs 13,000.” The victim received around Rs 13,000 per month for eight months, reinforcing his belief in the scheme.The accused then continued demanding money under various pretexts, including “GST”, “reserve fund” and “IPO-related charges”. Between April 2023 and Nov 2025, the complainant transferred Rs 20.09 lakh in multiple transactions and received Rs 1.04 lakh back as pension.The complaint states he was cheated of Rs 19.05 lakh by individuals impersonating insurance company officials.
