PUNE: A 36-year-old software engineer from Chikhali lost Rs4.83 lakh to cybercrooks, who posed as officials from a private insurance company and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).
The fraud took place between June and December last year. After a complaint application with the cybercrime cell of the Pimpri Chinchwad police and preliminary investigation, a case was filed with the Chikhali police recently.
A police officer from the latter said the complainant is a housewife now. While she was working in a software company a few years ago, she purchased three policies from a private insurance company, of which one matured and the amount was credited to her bank account.
“In June 2022, she received a call from a man posing as an officer of the insurance company. He said two old policies had no customer or agent codes,” the police officer said, adding that to get these codes, the woman was told she would need to purchase one more policy from the company.
The cop added, “The caller lured her with a bonus and commission, too. So, she purchased three new policies of Rs2.50 lakh in total and got Rs1.50 lakh in return from the caller.”
After that, the woman transferred Rs1.74 lakh for three more policies. “He promised her the amount within 90 days, along with the commission of Rs2.70 lakh and bonus of Rs2.75 lakh,” the police officer said.
The woman stated that in December, she received a call from a person, who claimed to be an officer from IRDA. “He told her that if she wanted her money from the insurance company, she needed to follow a certain procedure. He also sent her a photograph of a fund clearing notice certificate. The woman did not suspect anything and went on transferring the amounts as asked by the caller. Between December 14 and December 17, the woman transferred Rs1.78 lakh to the bank accounts provided to her,” the officer said.
She realised she had been duped when she got neither a bonus nor commission. The crooks kept constantly calling her and demanding more money. “In total, the woman lost Rs4.83 lakh to this scam. We have the details of the bank accounts where the money was transferred. We have sought details about the account holder from these banks,” the officer said.
The fraud took place between June and December last year. After a complaint application with the cybercrime cell of the Pimpri Chinchwad police and preliminary investigation, a case was filed with the Chikhali police recently.
A police officer from the latter said the complainant is a housewife now. While she was working in a software company a few years ago, she purchased three policies from a private insurance company, of which one matured and the amount was credited to her bank account.
“In June 2022, she received a call from a man posing as an officer of the insurance company. He said two old policies had no customer or agent codes,” the police officer said, adding that to get these codes, the woman was told she would need to purchase one more policy from the company.
The cop added, “The caller lured her with a bonus and commission, too. So, she purchased three new policies of Rs2.50 lakh in total and got Rs1.50 lakh in return from the caller.”
After that, the woman transferred Rs1.74 lakh for three more policies. “He promised her the amount within 90 days, along with the commission of Rs2.70 lakh and bonus of Rs2.75 lakh,” the police officer said.
The woman stated that in December, she received a call from a person, who claimed to be an officer from IRDA. “He told her that if she wanted her money from the insurance company, she needed to follow a certain procedure. He also sent her a photograph of a fund clearing notice certificate. The woman did not suspect anything and went on transferring the amounts as asked by the caller. Between December 14 and December 17, the woman transferred Rs1.78 lakh to the bank accounts provided to her,” the officer said.
She realised she had been duped when she got neither a bonus nor commission. The crooks kept constantly calling her and demanding more money. “In total, the woman lost Rs4.83 lakh to this scam. We have the details of the bank accounts where the money was transferred. We have sought details about the account holder from these banks,” the officer said.
Clinton Mora is a reporter for Trending Insurance News. He has previously worked for the Forbes. As a contributor to Trending Insurance News, Clinton covers emerging a wide range of property and casualty insurance related stories.