81-year-old man from Aluva loses Rs 1.2 crore in online fraud

KOCHI: An 81-year-old from Aluva ended up losing nearly `1.20 crore in an online fraud in which scammers allegedly threatened him with a forged Supreme Court notice and linked him to a human trafficking racket.

As per the complaint lodged with the Ernakulam Rural police, the fraudster identifying himself as ‘Ranjith’ and posing as a legal advisor with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India first contacted the victim on WhatsApp and told him that his mobile number was linked to a sexual abuse case registered at the Bengaluru Gandhi Nagar police station.