India, Nov. 8 -- A 76-year-old retired private employee in Bengaluru was defrauded of Rs.33.7 lakh after cybercriminals created a fake virtual courtroom. The fraudsters even posed as a magistrate to make the scam appear legitimate.

The victim, identified as Bhaskar Rao (name changed), said he was completely convinced by the digital set-up and did not suspect anything until he discussed the incident with his family after the video call ended.

"I lost all retirement savings. The court they had created looked real, and the magistrate spoke about legal procedures, so I could not become suspicious," Rao told Deccan Herald (DH).

The scam began on October 15 when Rao received a call from someone claiming to be from the Telecom Regulatory Auth...