A 37-year-old man was arrested by the Cyberabad Cyber Crime police for allegedly cheating a senior citizen and siphoning ₹5 lakh from her bank account after gaining the trust of her family and securing access to her mobile phone.

The accused was identified as Narender, a resident of Kukatpally and originally from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the police, the case came to light after a 66-year-old resident of Ayyappa Society in Madhapur lodged a complaint stating that unauthorised transactions had taken place from her savings account on May 9 and May 11. The woman informed the police that she had not authorised the transactions and was not using internet banking or mobile banking services.

Upon verifying her account, she found that ₹5 lakh had been fraudulently withdrawn. A case was subsequently registered and an investigation was launched.

During the probe, police analysed technical evidence, including mobile location data and call detail records, and identified the accused. He was later apprehended.

Investigators found that the accused had developed a close acquaintance with the victim’s family and frequently visited their residence. Taking advantage of the trust placed in him, he allegedly installed banking-related applications on the victim’s mobile phone and gained access to her bank account.

Police said the accused subsequently transferred money from the account without the victim’s knowledge or consent. The investigation revealed that the funds were diverted to online gaming platforms and were allegedly used by the accused for gaming activities.

During the arrest, police seized ₹5 lakh in cash from the accused.

Cyberabad Police advised the public not to share mobile phones, banking credentials, PINs, passwords or one-time passwords with others and to immediately report suspicious financial transactions to the cybercrime helpline 1930 or through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.