Lured by lottery ‘win’, Bengaluru woman loses Rs 11.8 lakh to cyber fraudsters

Bengaluru: A woman in western Bengaluru lost Rs 11.80 lakh to cyber fraudsters who posed as lottery executives and later as Delhi police officers.

Tulasi K (name changed), a homemaker, said she received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number claiming she had won Rs 8 lakh in a Kerala lottery.

The suspects shared a fake website, keralattorywinner.com, convincing her to pay Rs 19,190 as processing charges and later Rs 26,400 as additional fees to claim the winnings.

She was then contacted by a caller posing as a Delhi police officer, who told her to transfer her money for “verification” to resolve an alleged fraud.

Fearing legal trouble, she sent Rs 11.80 lakh to nine bank accounts, including those in UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and Axis Bank.

Tulasi filed a complaint on August 12. The West Cybercrime Police have launched a probe and are seeking bank details to track the money.

“The crime happened over several weeks as the scamsters stayed in touch with the victim. The public should be cautious since lotteries are banned in Karnataka,” a senior officer said.