Dublin: An Indian student studying in Dublin and his father in Karnataka have become victims of a sophisticated online scam involving a fraudster impersonating an official from the Indian Embassy. The family lost over ₹1 lakh (approximately €1,100) before realising the deception. A formal complaint has been lodged at the Udupi Town Police Station by the victim’s father, Srikanth (66), a resident of Kinnimulki, Udupi.
According to the complaint, the incident occurred on June 30 at around 6:05 p.m., when Sandesh (25), who has been pursuing his master’s degree in Dublin since 2024, received a phone call from an individual claiming to be an official from the Indian Embassy. The caller alleged that there was an error in Sandesh’s date of birth on his Irish Residence Permit (IRP) application and warned of severe consequences if it was not corrected immediately—including the classification of his passport under a “yellow group” and potential legal action.
Alarmed by the threat, Sandesh complied with the caller’s instructions and emailed scanned copies of his Aadhaar card, birth certificate, and voter ID to an address provided by the fraudster. The impersonator then instructed Sandesh to transfer money to various bank accounts for “document verification”, assuring him that the amount would be refunded upon completion of the process.
Following the instructions, Sandesh transferred ₹58,533 via his bank account. When he reached his transaction limit on Paytm, additional transfers were made using his father’s accounts—₹33,588.10 through Paytm and ₹67,075.60 via Google Pay—bringing the total amount defrauded to approximately ₹1.6 lakh.
The family became suspicious when the caller demanded further payments. Realising they had been scammed, they promptly filed a complaint with local authorities.
Udupi police have launched an investigation into the case. Authorities have also urged the public, especially Indian nationals living abroad and their families, to remain vigilant and verify the identity of anyone claiming to represent official institutions—particularly when sensitive documents or financial transactions are involved.
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