Archive · 28 Aug 2026
Two Thane Seniors Lose Rs 15.73 Lakh in Voter Fraud
Two older men in Thane were tricked by people pretending to be election officials.
The callers said there were mistakes in the men’s voter records.
One man was told to download a voter-verification app from WhatsApp.
The app allowed the scammers to access his phone and take money from his bank account.
The other man was asked to send Rs 5 to fix a record.
He then lost much more money from his account.
Together, the men lost Rs 15.73 lakh.
Police registered cases and are investigating, but nobody has been arrested yet.
Two men in their 70s from Thane lost a combined Rs 15.73 lakh in separate cyber-fraud cases.
In the first case on August 18, a 71-year-old man installed a malicious voter-verification APK sent through WhatsApp.
The fraudsters allegedly siphoned Rs 8.89 lakh after compromising the man’s mobile device.
In the second case on August 19, a 75-year-old man lost Rs 6.84 lakh after sending Rs 5 to correct voter-record details.
FIRs were registered at Chitalsar police station, but no arrests had been made when police reported the cases.
- Who
- Two men aged 71 and 75 from Thane were targeted by unidentified fraudsters posing as Election Commission of India representatives.
- What
- The men lost a combined Rs 15.73 lakh in separate cyber-fraud schemes involving alleged voter-record corrections.
- When
- The incidents occurred on August 18 and August 19; police reported the cases on August 28.
- Where
- The cases were reported in Thane, Maharashtra, with FIRs registered at Chitalsar police station.
- Why
- The fraudsters claimed they needed to correct errors in the victims’ voter records, including a father’s name.
- Total loss
- Rs 15.73 lakh
- First victim
- A 71-year-old man who lost Rs 8.89 lakh
- Second victim
- A 75-year-old man who lost Rs 6.84 lakh
- Fraud method one
- A malicious “Online Voter Verification” APK sent through WhatsApp
- Fraud method two
- A request to send Rs 5 through net banking for record correction
- Police action
- FIRs registered and an investigation launched
- Arrests
- No arrests had been made when police reported the cases