A 70-year-old man in Pune was defrauded of ₹4.81 lakh by cyber criminals posing as pension card registration agents, in an incident that unfolded in the Baner area of Maharashtra between 8 and 9 September 2026. The case is part of a growing pattern of scams targeting elderly citizens through fake government benefit schemes.

How the Fraud Unfolded

The victim, Dilip Eknath Waikar, a resident of Pashan, received a WhatsApp message purportedly related to pension card registration. He was instructed to open the message and enter his bank account details. Within days, he discovered that ₹4.81 lakh had been fraudulently withdrawn from his account without his authorisation.

A case was subsequently registered at Baner police station under Sections 318(4) and 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act. The identity of the accused remains unknown, and no arrests have been made so far.

A Near-Identical Case from September

This is not an isolated incident. In a strikingly similar case reported in September, a 72-year-old retired bank employee from Makarba lost ₹5 lakh after clicking on a Facebook advertisement that offered a pension card purportedly issued by a bank.

According to his complaint filed with Sarkhej police, the retired banker encountered the advertisement on 6 September and applied for the card through the provided link, believing it to be genuine. The following day, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller allegedly confirmed that his pension card had been approved and requested his name, address, and other personal details to complete the registration process.

The victim shared his bank account details with the caller. He subsequently received an email alert about an online transaction of ₹5 lakh from his account. Realising he had not authorised the transfer, he immediately contacted the cybercrime helpline at 1930. A check of his account revealed the money had been transferred to an account maintained with Punjab National Bank.

The Broader Pattern

Both cases follow a well-documented modus operandi — fraudsters use social media platforms and messaging apps to impersonate government or banking schemes, targeting senior citizens who may be less familiar with digital security practices. Notably, the scams exploit legitimate-sounding concepts like pension card registration to gain victims' trust and extract financial credentials.

Cybercrime experts and police have repeatedly warned that no government or bank scheme requires account details to be submitted via WhatsApp links, Facebook advertisements, or unsolicited calls. Citizens are advised to verify any such communication directly with their bank branch or official helplines before sharing sensitive information.

What Victims Should Do

Anyone who suspects they have been targeted by a similar scam is urged to immediately call the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in. Prompt reporting significantly increases the chances of freezing and recovering fraudulently transferred funds.