73-Year-Old Labourer Loses ₹3.34 Lakh to UPI Fraud After Phone Loss in Indore

A 73-year-old labourer in Indore lost his life savings to online fraud after his mobile phone went missing at Dharampuri weekly market on March 16. Madanlal Chauhan discovered that an unidentified person had activated a PhonePe UPI account using his lost phone and linked SIM card, siphoning ₹3,34,270 from his bank account over five days.

Chauhan realised the fraud only when he visited his bank to withdraw money and found unauthorised transactions had cleared his account between March 16 and March 21, 2025. He had obtained a replacement SIM card for his registered number, but the fraudster had already acted.

Sanwer police have registered a case under section 318(4) of the BNS and section 66D of the IT Act. An investigation is underway to trace the transactions and identify the suspect.