Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Cyber fraudsters posing as treasury officials tried to extract bank details and OTP from a 72-year-old pensioner here under the pretext of updating his pension and releasing arrears.
According to the complaint lodged by pensioner Rajendra Kumar Mishra’s acquaintance Hariom Verma, the accused called Mishra on October 28, introducing himself as B.K. Tripathi, an employee of the pension department.
The caller claimed that the pension card of the Panchsheel Nagar resident needed to be updated and that arrears would soon be credited to his account.
To make the call appear authentic, the conman’s WhatsApp profile displayed the Madhya Pradesh government logo and Treasury Department insignia to appear credible.
During the conversation, the fraudster even mentioned the name of Mishra’s sister and nominee, Mamta Mai Mishra, suggesting that the group had access to internal departmental information about pensioners.
When the accused later demanded Mishra’s bank account details, ATM number, and OTP, he grew suspicious and refused to share the information. Verma then tried to meet the caller at Satpura Bhavan, but the man was untraceable and both his contact numbers were switched off.
The Cyber Crime Branch has registered a case and launched an investigation. Initial findings indicate that the fraudsters used fake government credentials and logos to target pensioners, raising concerns that sensitive pension records may have been leaked or misused.
