Assam: Elderly couple from Guwahati falls victim to banking fraud, loses over Rs. 7 lakhs

An elderly couple from Guwahati was scammed out of more than Rs. 7 lakhs from two of their bank accounts by fraudsters. The couple, who live in the Geetanagar area of Guwahati, fell victim to a message from an unidentified number that threatened to cut off their electricity supply within a few minutes if they didn't recharge their electricity bill. The message instructed them to recharge a phone number with Rs. 100 or face disconnection.

The panicked couple quickly recharged the amount by sending Rs. 100 to the specified phone number, only to discover later that their savings accounts had been debited with Rs. 7,61,000. Dinesh Chandra Dutta, the husband, lost Rs. 4,13,900 from his account, while his wife lost Rs. 3,47,100 from hers.

According to the wife, she overheard her husband talking to someone over the phone about the electricity bill recharge. The caller gave a warning that if they did not recharge, the electricity line would be cut off within the next few minutes. Despite already having paid the bill, the caller claimed that they had not received it and instructed them to recharge again.

After calling a number provided by the fraudsters, they were asked to make an Rs. 100 recharge. Dinesh attempted to make the payment through the APDCL app, but the transaction failed due to a malfunction. The fraudsters then directed the couple to recharge with a different phone and took the wife's phone to make the payment. They were then instructed to click on a link, which led to the loss of their savings.