PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
An 82-year-old retired scientist from Dehradun has fallen victim to an online fraud, in which cyber criminals cheated him of Rs 3.49 lakh. His son lodged a complaint at Nehru Colony police station against unknown fraudsters.
According to the complaint, the victim identified as Prem Ballabh Semwal, a former senior scientist at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, was facing an issue with his Google Pay account, which had been deactivated by the bank. On December 23, 2025, while searching online for help, he received a WhatsApp video call from a man who claimed to be an official of the State Bank of India. The caller sent an unknown APK file, which reportedly gave him access to the victim’s mobile phone. Without the elderly man’s knowledge, the accused added himself as a bank beneficiary and transferred money from two SBI accounts through RTGS and IMPS transactions within minutes. Following a complaint filed by the victim’s son, the cyber crime police registered a case and started an investigation.
