PNG Bill Scam in Pune: Cybercriminals Dupe 62-Year-Old of Rs 8.91 Lakh
Kothrud, 28th March 2026: A 62-year-old resident of Kothrud was allegedly cheated of ₹8.91 lakh by cyber fraudsters who threatened to disconnect his piped natural gas (PNG) connection for non-payment of a bill.
According to police, the victim, who runs an electrical gadgets manufacturing unit, lodged a complaint with the Pune cybercrime police after discovering the fraudulent transactions. Based on preliminary inquiry, a case was registered at the Kothrud police station on Thursday.
An officer from Kothrud police said the incident began on November 13 last year when the complainant received a call from an unknown mobile number. The caller claimed that the victim had not paid his PNG bill for the month of May and warned that the gas connection would be disconnected if the dues were not cleared immediately.
The caller then sent the victim a link and asked him to pay ₹8 through it to begin the payment process. Trusting the instructions, the victim clicked the link and attempted to transfer the small amount. However, the transaction failed.
Police said the victim realised something was wrong the next day, November 14, when he was in Mahabaleshwar and attempted to make a payment at a hotel using his debit card but found there was no balance in the account.
Upon checking with his accountant, he learned that ₹8.91 lakh had been withdrawn from his bank account through five separate transactions on November 13.
Police have launched an investigation to trace the accused and track the money trail.
