Thiruvananthapuram: A retired college professor from the state capital has lost ₹1 lakh after falling for a fake phone call promising to renew a lapsed insurance policy. The complaint was filed by Dr. Anil Kumar, a resident of Valiyavila in Thiruvananthapuram. The scammers tricked him by claiming to be from ICICI Prudential Insurance Company.

The whole thing started when a woman, who introduced herself as Roshni Sharma, called Dr. Kumar. She told him that an insurance policy he had taken in 2017 had lapsed, but there was a chance to renew it. She promised that if he paid the pending premium of ₹1 lakh, he would receive the full policy amount as its 10-year term was about to end.

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To create a sense of urgency, she claimed it was the last day to renew the policy. She then gave him the number of another 'official', Anuradha Jain, supposedly from the Kochi branch. She also mentioned that a confirmation from IRDAI was required to make it sound official.

The scammers asked Dr. Kumar to transfer ₹1 lakh, which they claimed was for two premium payments, to a Punjab National Bank account. To win his trust, they used fake letterheads with the ICICI Bank logo and fake WhatsApp profiles. Believing them, Dr. Kumar transferred the money from the Vattiyoorkavu branch.

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He only realised he had been scammed a few days later, when a friend who used to work in the insurance sector visited him and heard the story. He immediately filed a complaint with the cyber police, who have registered a case and started an investigation.

Dr. Kumar has a word of caution for everyone: "If anyone calls you about renewing an insurance policy, please contact the company directly. These scammers are very convincing and even create fake documents, so be very careful."