What is the electoral roll cyber scam in which a 79-year-old Pune man lost ₹11.92 lakh?
Cyber fraudsters are targeting citizens by posing as Election Commission officials to steal personal information and banking details under the guise of electoral roll corrections. A 79-year-old man in Pune recently lost over ₹11 lakh after being tricked into sharing sensitive data.
Why it matters
This scam demonstrates the increasing sophistication of cybercriminals exploiting government processes to commit financial fraud.
Cyber fraudsters posing as Election Commission officials are allegedly exploiting electoral roll corrections and voter verification procedures to cheat citizens, with several cases reported in Pune and Mumbai since August. The frauds involve calls, WhatsApp messages, suspicious links and purported verification forms, with victims losing lakhs of rupees through unauthorised banking transactions. The cases have raised questions about how fraudsters obtain voters’ personal information and whether similar complaints are connected.
In one of the latest cases, a 79-year-old Pune resident allegedly lost ₹11.92 lakh after being contacted by a person posing as an election official regarding a request to correct his partner’s name on the electoral roll. According to an FIR registered at Swargate Police Station on October 9, the complainant had submitted an online form a few days earlier to change his partner’s name in the voter list. He subsequently received WhatsApp messages and calls concerning the application.
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