Kochi: A 72-year-old resident of Thrippunithura in Ernakulam district has lost Rs 7.70 lakh to cyber fraudsters who posed as Election Commission officials and tricked him into opening a fraudulent website, according to police. The victim approached the Hill Palace police station, which has taken up the complaint for investigation.

Source: The 420

The fraud began with unsolicited messages claiming that discrepancies had been found in his voter registration details. The messages alleged that his recorded name did not match his father's name in the electoral roll and that the error had to be corrected as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Source: The Mainstream

To make the approach appear genuine, the fraudsters also telephoned him, presenting themselves as authorised Election Commission representatives assisting with corrections to voter records.

The accused then shared a link over WhatsApp, presenting it as an official Election Commission verification portal where the alleged error could be corrected. Shortly after he accessed the fraudulent website, unauthorised transactions were carried out through two of his bank accounts, resulting in a combined loss of Rs 7.70 lakh.

Police tracing numbers and money trail

Investigators are examining the digital evidence in the case, tracing the mobile numbers used in the calls and messages and the recipient accounts into which the money was moved, according to the reports.

The case is the latest in a series of cyber frauds in Kerala in which criminals exploit routine government procedures — here, the voter-roll revision — to create urgency and deceive residents, particularly senior citizens. Police routinely advise the public that the Election Commission never seeks personal or banking details through WhatsApp links, and that suspected cyber fraud should be reported immediately on the national cyber crime helpline 1930.