A surge in pension-linked scams across Indian cities reveals sophisticated tactics targeting senior citizens through social media, messaging apps, and impersonation, leading to significant financial losses.
The loss of Rs 5 lakh reported by a 63-year-old man in Mysuru appears to be the latest example of a wider fraud script that has surfaced in several Indian cities this year, with criminals using the promise of a “Senior Citizen Pension Card” to reach older people through Facebook, phone calls and WhatsApp before draining their accounts. Reports from Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Titagarh point to the same basic lure, even though the mechanics vary from case to case.
In Mysuru, Star of Mysore reported that the victim, identified as Lokesh, a resident of Ramakrishnanagar, clicked a Facebook link on 2 September after seeing an offer connected to the purported card. He was later called by an unidentified person who collected personal and banking details, including PIN information, and Rs 1 lakh and Rs 4 lakh were then moved out of his account. The complaint was lodged at the city’s CEN police station, which the Mysuru district administration lists as the cyber crime unit based on Mirza Road in the Commissioner of Police Office building.
What makes the Mysuru case more significant is how closely it resembles incidents reported elsewhere. The Times of India said a 63-year-old businessman in Ahmedabad lost Rs 9.22 lakh after a caller on 1 June claimed to be linked to a private bank and offered a senior citizen pension card. When the man declined, he was told he needed to cancel the offer formally or risk trouble with his bank account and fixed deposits. A second number then sent him a WhatsApp message carrying the bank’s logo and an APK file bearing the bank’s name and the words “pension card”. After he installed it and joined a video call, he was asked for Aadhaar and PAN details. By the next day, he was receiving alerts showing Aadhaar updates, debit card PIN changes and netbanking activity, and police later found that two fixed deposits worth more than Rs 8.9 lakh had been broken and the money sent through multiple accounts and payment gateways.
Hyderabad police have also been dealing with a cluster of similar cases. The Times of India reported that six victims there lost more than Rs 23 lakh in just two days. The biggest loss, Rs 6 lakh, was suffered by a 67-year-old retired employee from Gunfoundry after a fraudster posing as an IndusInd Bank representative offered a lifetime free senior citizen pension card and sent a malicious APK through WhatsApp. Mirror Now, covering the same police action, said the fake download gave the scammer remote access to the victim’s banking information, leading to three unauthorised transfers on 6 August. Another Hyderabad victim, a 66-year-old retired employee from Boduppal, lost Rs 1.9 lakh after installing what was described as a fake SBI pension card APK, showing that the bait is being repackaged under different bank names.
Other reporting suggests the fraud does not always depend on malicious software at the first step. The420.in said police in Pimpri-Chinchwad registered a case after a misleading Facebook advertisement promoted what was presented as a government-backed pension card scheme that would distribute monthly grants. According to that report, the suspect used direct messages to build trust and obtained two bank account numbers from the elderly complainant under the guise of checking eligibility and processing compliance details. The case was handled at Sant Tukaram Nagar police station under Senior Inspector Suhas Avhad, indicating that investigators are treating the pension-card pitch as part of a broader social-media fraud ecosystem rather than as a one-off deception.
A Sanmarg report from Titagarh in West Bengal adds another variation. It said Deependra Nath Ghosh received a call on 21 August from someone claiming to be an ICICI Bank employee discussing benefits tied to a senior citizen pension card. Ghosh said he did not hand over his account number, yet a WhatsApp message followed and Rs 1,37,003 was later withdrawn from his account. Fraudsters also tried, unsuccessfully, to pull Rs 1,00,002 from his credit card. He told the publication that he had not shared any OTP, then filed complaints through the NCRP portal and at Titagarh police station. That detail matters because it suggests the fraud can succeed even where victims believe they have withheld the final authorisation code.
Taken together, the cases show a scam model that is flexible in method but consistent in its pressure points. In Mysuru, the alleged fraud appears to have relied on harvesting personal and banking information after a Facebook click. In Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, investigators said APK files probably enabled remote access, captured credentials or intercepted banking activity. In Pimpri-Chinchwad, the approach was slower, using direct messaging to win confidence, while the Titagarh case indicates criminals may continue probing for ways in even after a target refuses key details. The common theme is the use of pension-linked language aimed at older people, combined with urgency, institutional impersonation and familiar digital platforms.
For Mysuru police, the local case is therefore not just a single complaint about a Rs 5 lakh theft but part of a pattern that appears to be spreading across cities and banks. The official district directory confirms that the CEN police station where Lokesh complained is the designated cyber crime unit in the city. What remains unclear in the Mysuru case is whether the theft involved only information shared over the phone or a deeper compromise of the victim’s device or account access. Reports from Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Titagarh suggest investigators elsewhere are already dealing with all of those possibilities under the same pension-card pretext.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
