In Bhagalpur, cybercriminals impersonating electricity department officials have reportedly defrauded a Home Guard of Rs. 92,000 by convincing him to click a malicious link via WhatsApp. The incident, which occurred on November 6, led the victim’s family to lodge a complaint with the cyber police station. Vinod Kumar Yadav, the victim and a Home Guard stationed at Bhagalpur Samyukt Bhavan, mentioned that he had been saving this money for his daughter’s wedding. He received a call around noon from an unknown number claiming to be from the Electricity Office. According to a complaint submitted by his son, Nitesh Kumar, the caller claimed that their electricity meter was ‘not updated’ and requested a Rs. 100 recharge to finalize the process.
Shortly thereafter, the fraudster sent a link via WhatsApp, allegedly from ‘Bihar Electricity’. Upon clicking the link, the victim’s mobile phone shut down, and when it restarted, all his bank funds had vanished. Nitesh quickly reached out to the national cybercrime helpline at 1930 and subsequently filed a formal complaint at the Bhagalpur Cyber Police Station. Authorities are currently working to identify the group responsible for the scam. A cyber officer indicated that this incident might be part of a broader trend where scammers utilize threats of disconnection or meter deactivation to manipulate victims. Residents are advised to refrain from clicking on unfamiliar links and to verify calls directly with the electricity department.