Chandigarh: A 63-year-old retired employee of Punjab Engineering College (PEC) was allegedly duped of Rs 4.5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as a friend living abroad and later threatened him while impersonating a cyber cell official.The complainant, Ashok Kumar Sharma, a resident of Dhanas, Chandigarh, told cyber police that on April 28, 2026, he received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as his friend Gill from Australia and asked whether Sharma recognised him. Since Sharma knew Daljeet Singh Gill, who lives in Canada, he believed the caller was his acquaintance.The caller allegedly sought Sharma’s bank account details on the pretext of transferring money. After receiving his SBI account details, the fraudster sent WhatsApp messages containing purported transaction receipts showing transfers of Rs 8 lakh and Rs 7 lakh, totalling Rs 15 lakh, claiming the amount would be credited within two to three working days.Later that day, Sharma received another WhatsApp call from a person identifying himself as Ranjeet, who claimed to be Gill’s friend. The caller said his mother was admitted to a hospital in Delhi and urgently needed Rs 4.5 lakh for treatment. He shared an Indian Bank account, allegedly in the name of Surinder Singh, and requested Sharma to transfer the money.Believing the promised Rs 15 lakh would soon reach his account, Sharma transferred Rs 4.5 lakh through RTGS to the bank account provided by the fraudster.The accused subsequently continued demanding more money and even provided another mobile number, claiming it belonged to the doctor treating the patient.However, when Sharma approached his bank, he was informed that the receipts showing the Rs 15 lakh transfer were fake and that no amount had been credited to his account.Sharma lodged an online complaint on May 5. He further alleged that after filing the complaint, he received threatening calls from another number, with the caller falsely claiming to be an official of the Fazilka cyber cell Vigilance and pressuring him to withdraw the complaint.After verifying the facts, cyber police registered a case against unknown persons and are tracing the money trail to identify the fraudsters. No arrests have been made so far.
