India, Feb. 7 -- A retired government servant and bhajan tutor from Malabar Hill lost Rs.2.85 crore over a period of five years to cyber frauds who initially took money from him under the guise of a government-backed investment scheme and later extracted more money claiming they were government/ police officers and were probing suspicious transactions undertaken by him.

The 86-year-old bhajan tutor transferred the money to the unidentified frauds via 98 online transactions between December 2019 and December 2024, said police. The frauds initially communicated with him via his land phone and later sent forged letters in the name of the government departments and police. The letters, in hard copy, bore the logo, name and seal of concerned ...