PRAYAGRAJ, Aug. 6 -- From gas connection KYC updates and electricity bill payments to Municipal House Tax and bank account verification, cyberfraudsters are using the names of public services to target unsuspecting citizens. By creating panic through threats of service disconnection, subsidy cancellation, or account deactivation, they persuade victims to click suspicious links or share sensitive financial information. Recent incidents in Prayagraj highlight how cybercriminals are turning government facilities and the crisis of essential services into an opportunity for financial fraud. On July 7, a businessman from Civil Lines received a call from a person claiming to be an employee of a gas agency. The caller warned that the businessman's gas connection would be discontinued because his KYC formalities were incomplete. He was sent a suspicious link and asked to pay Rs 13 online for verification. While attempting to complete the procedure, Rs 1.93 lakh was siphoned off from his bank account in two transactions. A similar incident occurred during a period of LPG supply shortages when a 72-year-old resident of Ashok Nagar was contacted by fraudsters posing as gas agency officials. Under the pretext of updating his KYC details, they obtained his banking information and withdrew Rs 6.79 lakh from his account. In another case, a woman lost Rs 12.54 lakh after fraudsters lured her with a promise to double her fixed deposit within a short period. She was advised not to discuss the offer with bank employees, who were allegedly seeking commissions and would prevent her from benefiting from the scheme. Trusting the fraudsters, she transferred the money and was subsequently cheated. Likewise, a resident of Dariyabad locality received a call last month regarding online payment of municipal house tax. He was sent a link with the Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) logo. After opening it, his mobile phone was compromised. Within minutes, Rs 96,000 was withdrawn from his bank account. Despite extensive awareness campaigns, cybercrime has continued to rise in the Prayagraj division. Between January and June 2026, cyber crime police stations in Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, and Kaushambi registered 80 FIRs, compared to 51 during the corresponding period in 2025. This represents an increase of nearly 57 percent. In Prayagraj alone, registered cases doubled from 24 to 48 during the six-month period. These figures reflect only cases registered at dedicated cyber crime police stations lodging FIR in cases pertaining to amounts over Rs 5 lakh. The actual scale of cyber fraud is considerably larger, complaints for less than Rs 5 lakh are handled by cyber cells operating within regular police stations. Ghanshyam Yadav, in-charge, Cyber Cell said fraudsters are now turning government schemes and emergency situations into opportunities for scams. "Capitalising on people's panic and haste, they lure them into their traps using fake links. However, no government department employee ever asks for KYC to be completed via an APK file or a suspicious link," he added....