Fake SIR official and a ‘Rs 5 fee’ trap: How Bengaluru man lost Rs 3.5 lakh

‘Help’ after a failed transaction

The fraudster then allegedly told Parthasarathy that a payment of Rs 5 was required to complete the verification process. When the complainant attempted to make the payment using his credit card, he received a message stating that the transaction had failed. When the elderly man informed the caller of the failed transaction, the caller said he would first process the transaction himself before sending a QR code for payment.

However, shortly afterwards, Parthasarathy found that nearly Rs 3.5 lakh had been debited from his credit card through multiple transactions.

Based on the complaint, the Jeevan Bheemanagar police registered an FIR on July 31 against an unknown person on charges of identity theft and cheating by personation using computer resources.

“We have registered a case and the investigation is in progress,” a police officer said.

The police have urged people, particularly senior citizens, to remain vigilant against fraudsters impersonating government officials and to verify such claims through official channels before sharing personal or financial information.

The Election Commission’s SIR exercise is underway in Karnataka, with over 1.10 crore voters reportedly marked under the absent, shifted, duplicate, dead and others (ASDDO) category of draft-stage deletions from the electoral roll.