Panaji: With an increase in cases of senior citizens falling prey to cyber fraudsters, Goa police on Saturday sought details from banks of senior citizens who are high-net-worth individuals, to protect them better.Goa police are taking proactive measures to safeguard the elderly population from cybercrime by engaging directly with them and providing the necessary information and guidance.In a letter to banks, cybercrime SP Rahul Gupta said that in recent months, digital arrest frauds have shown a worrying rise, with fraudsters particularly targeting senior citizens with high net worth.“Fraudsters posing as law enforcement or govt officials are deceiving victims into transferring large sums of money under the pretext of involvement in fabricated criminal cases,” he said. “To proactively address this menace and initiate timely preventive awareness efforts, it is requested that your branch kindly share a list of customers who are senior citizens, maintaining bank balances exceeding Rs 10 lakh, along with their name, residential address, age, and contact number.”Gupta said, “This information will solely be used for the purpose of conducting a direct awareness outreach, including personal visits, official communications, and community programmes aimed at educating these vulnerable citizens about such cyber fraud tactics.”While investigating cyber fraud cases, Goa police observed that senior citizens are especially susceptible to cybercrimes because generally their digital literacy is limited, they have a trusting nature, they are lonely although financially stable, and they lack immediate support.Over the past nine months, 36 senior citizens were defrauded by cybercriminals. Police said that with the increasing digitisation of banking, communication, and day-to-day services, senior citizens have become soft targets for cybercriminals.“In Goa, a sizable number of senior citizens have become victims of cybercrimes. From Sep 2024 to date, a total of 36 senior citizens were cheated by fraudsters, and of them, 15 victims faced the trauma of the digital arrest scam,” Gupta told TOI.Last month, Goa police arrested a Karnataka resident in alleged connection with a major cyber fraud case involving an amount of over Rs 1 crore. The case was registered at the cybercrime police station based on a complaint lodged by a resident of Old Goa.In Nov last year, Kumar Utlasar, 50, a Bengaluru resident, was arrested by the cybercrime cell of Goa police in connection with an alleged high-value investment fraud worth Rs 2.3 crore. A complaint in this case was filed by a resident of Valpoi, Sattari.Goa police on Friday busted an interstate gang for allegedly targeting senior citizens under the pretext of helping them at ATMs to withdraw cash. Police said that the gang members, on the pretext of assisting the ATM users to withdraw cash, took their original cards and handed them fake ones.The criminals then used the original cards at different ATMs to withdraw cash.
