Retired senior official of private firm duped of Rs 7 lakh in PF fraud

This picture has been used for representation purpose

A 68-year-old retired senior official of a paint manufacturing company was duped of Rs 7 lakh after receiving a fake call from a woman who alleged that Rs 21.54 lakh had been lying unclaimed in his PF account since his retirement 10 years ago. According to the police the victim was identified as Om Prakash Ahuja, a resident of Chandivli. He filed a case with the Powai police on January 29, a Times of India report read.

Ahuja said he received several calls from a woman who pretended to be a telecaller from the PF department. She convinced him to fill various forms and transfer amounts to a bank account, if he wanted to claim the PF money. He transferred Rs 20,100 after filling the first form and the next day he was asked to transfer 2 lakh, the report stated.

"I lost a major amount on January 28, when I transferred Rs 5 lakh, as I was assured of receiving an amount of Rs 21.54 lakh by the evening or next day", Ahuja said. He later realised that he was cheated and the fraudster had also hacked his phone and deleted the call logs. Ahuja said the amount was transferred to a Noida account of ERN company. The woman again called me today (February 4) and asked me to pay Rs 50,000 as processing fees, the report added.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates