The incident came to light when the elderly man visited the branch and asked to close seven of his fixed deposits, together worth ₹45 lakh. When asked about the reason, he claimed it was for house construction but insisted on withdrawing the entire amount immediately.
After transferring the funds to his savings account, the man soon returned with a cheque for ₹45 lakh made out to Amigo Marine Services Pvt. Ltd., a company based in Mumbai. The transaction raised suspicions among the bank employees, who decided to verify the matter before processing it.
During questioning, the customer revealed that someone named “Ravikumar” had contacted him on WhatsApp, instructing him to make the payment for buying property in Mumbai for his son. However, he failed to provide any documents or proof of the deal.
Sensing something wrong, the bank staff convinced him to return the next day. When he came back with his wife, the truth was revealed — the man had fallen prey to a cybercriminal who had video-called him and threatened that his son would be arrested in criminal cases unless he paid ₹45 lakh. The fraudster had also managed to obtain his Aadhaar and personal details to open another account in his name.
The bank employees immediately informed the customer’s family and urged them to lodge a complaint with the cyber police. The elderly man thanked the staff for saving his hard-earned money from being stolen.
Interestingly, this was the second cyber fraud attempt foiled by the same branch in just a week. Earlier, scammers had tried to deceive a young woman by claiming that a friend of her father had sent £45,000 from abroad, supposedly stuck at Delhi airport customs. The bank verified the claim and confirmed it was fake.
Thanks to the vigilance of the Federal Bank team, two major fraud attempts were stopped before any money could be lost — a timely reminder for everyone to stay alert against cyber scams.
Tags:
Cybercrime
