Noida: A group of cybercriminals allegedly cheated elderly residents in three separate incidents in Noida and the National Capital Region using fake bill notices and an unauthorised credit card transaction.In two of the cases, fraudsters posed as employees of a cooking gas distribution company and threatened the victims with disconnection within two hours over allegedly unpaid bills.In the first case, on Jan 12, a person claiming to be an IGL employee called a retired bank official from Greater Noida and told him that his gas connection would be disconnected if the dues were not cleared. The caller also sent him an APK file purportedly containing a copy of the bill.The complainant, however, told the caller that he had regularly paid his bills and showed the receipt as proof over a video call. The following night, between 8 pm and 9 pm, the complainant received six messages informing him that Rs 10 lakh had been withdrawn from his bank account.In a similar case, a doctor from Greater Noida was contacted on Nov 30, 2025, on the pretext of an IGL bill. He was sent an APK file, after which Rs 20 lakh was transferred from his bank accounts.In yet another case, a retired IRS officer and former principal chief commissioner of income tax lost $586.23 (around Rs 55,000) from his credit card through an unauthorised transaction while he was visiting Meerut. The victim received a message at around 12:27 pm regarding a $586.23 payment through his HSBC Premier credit card to Hertz, a car rental company.Suspecting the message to be a fraud, the victim did not make the transaction. However, after receiving alerts about payment confirmation, he immediately called the 1930 helpline and reported the case.Police suspect that his card details may have been compromised and used to pay for a service offered by the international car rental company in India or abroad. Investigators are trying to determine how the transaction was carried out and identify the account, mobile number or other channel used.Police have advised residents to not install APK files received through unsolicited calls or messages and to independently verify claims of pending utility bills through official channels.
