Decided to pay Rs 10 lakh and commit suicide; One timely intervention that saved Thiruvananthapuram native

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A retired officer aged 74 and a native of Sreevaraham showed restlessness upon arriving at the Fort branch of Bank of Baroda. He informed the staff about his decision to withdraw his fixed deposit of Rs 10 lakh immediately. The bank manager, noticing the unusual behaviour, asked him the reason behind withdrawing such a huge amount, to which the senile person cited financial requirements for house construction. The manager, who smelled foul, told the man to come the next day. By this time, the cyber police were alerted.

This timely intervention from the manager foiled the plans of yet another virtual arrest attempt.

The next day, the elderly man who arrived at the bank mistook the cyber policeman for officials about to nab him in a black money case. The elderly man hesitated to reveal the incidents to the police for fear. He was taken to the police station and quizzed for hours before the truth came out. When the virtual fraudsters called the elderly man's phone, it was the police officials who attended the call, forcing the gang to hang up the phone and flee. The WhatsApp chats sent up until then were also destroyed.

The fraudsters first called the Thiruvananthapuram native on December 17. The WhatsApp call informed the retired man that he was booked by the Mumbai Police for black money transactions and anti-national activities. They also gave strict instructions to keep the incident secret. The calls continued from the 24th. They informed them that four people had been arrested and that the fifth would soon be placed under virtual arrest.

They also sent a doctored letter from the RBI stating that there was a Supreme Court order to make a real arrest or else pay a fine of Rs. 1.5 crore to the Reserve Bank to escape. The account number was in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.

The Thiruvananthapuram native told them that he had only Rs 10 lakh in fixed deposits. The gang negotiated and said they would help him come out of the case if the money was transferred on an immediate basis. Accordingly, the retired man went to the bank.

Since the retired Thiruvananthapuram native insisted that the incident not be made public, the police did not file a case.