In Mumbai, fraudsters duped an 85-year-old retired professor of ₹9 crore by threatening him with ‘digital arrest’. Posing as Police-CBI, they took information about the accounts and got the money transferred. The amount was withdrawn between December 1 and 22. Police is busy investigating.
Digital Arrest in Mumbai: In Mumbai, fraudsters duped an 85 year old man of Rs 9 crore by trapping him in cyber fraud. Police said on Wednesday, December 24 that the scammers had digitally arrested the elderly man. The victim is a retired professor and former head of the department in an engineering college. He lodged a complaint at the South Region Cyber Police Station, after which the police is now investigating the matter.
When did the incident happen?
The incident started on November 28 when the elderly man received a call from Panchvati police station in Nashik. The caller introduced himself as an inspector. The caller said that a bank account has been opened using your Aadhaar number. That account has been used for money laundering and transferring money to the terrorist organization Popular Front of India (PFI) banned by the Central Government. The caller warned that a criminal case is being registered against you and it is being investigated by a special team of CBI Crime Branch.
Fraudsters gave confidence to the elderly
Subsequently, on December 1, the victim received a WhatsApp video call from another man dressed in police uniform. The caller told the elderly man that an arrest warrant had been issued against him and he had been “digitally arrested”. After this the fraudsters asked the victim to share complete details of their bank accounts and investments. He also warned that he should not mention this matter to anyone. After this the fraudsters asked to transfer all their savings. He assured him that the money would be returned with interest after the investigation is completed.
Elderly person transferred Rs 9 crore in 22 days
Fearing arrest, the old man transferred money from his fixed deposits, mutual funds and share market investments to several bank accounts. Police said that a total of ₹9 crore was transferred between December 1 and December 22. Subsequently, when the calls suddenly stopped, the victim tried to contact the alleged authorities, but did not receive any response. Then they realized that they had been cheated a lot. After this the elderly person contacted the National Cybercrime Helpline number 1930 and went to the cyber police to lodge a formal complaint. At present the police is investigating to trace the fraudsters and recover the money.