A 75-year-old man in Mumbai was duped of Rs 70 lakh after fraudsters claimed his name had surfaced in the probe into the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Fearing his imminent arrest, the elderly man transferred all of his life savings only to discover that he had fallen victim to a digital arrest scam.
According to information, the man received a call on September 25 from a woman who identified herself as Vineeta Sharma, an Anti-Terror Squad officer from New Delhi.
She claimed that his mobile number and Aadhaar card had been used for suspicious activities. Shortly after, the man received a video call in which a man, who identified himself as Inspector General Premkumar Gautam, was wearing a police uniform.
The imposter threatened to arrest the man, seize his bank account, and block his passport. The fraudsters then extracted information from the man about his political ideology, income, bank accounts, fixed deposits, stock holdings, and his wife’s details.
The fraudsters, citing fake RBI regulations, claimed that his money would first be certified as “white money”. Falling for this deception, the man transferred a total of 70 lakh to three different bank accounts. After receiving the money, the fraudsters also sent him a fake RBI acknowledgement via WhatsApp.
The man told the police that the fraudsters temporarily disabled his and his wife’s mobile phones, as well as their home computer, claiming they were under surveillance. He was also instructed not to contact anyone. This left him mentally distressed.
On September 28, when the fraudsters pressured him to transfer a fixed deposit of Rs 1 crore, the man suspected fraud and immediately went to a police station to file a complaint.
The Mumbai Cyber Crime Department has initiated a high-priority investigation. Police have recovered all WhatsApp messages, audio recordings, and bank details of the fraudsters.
Police are now working to identify and arrest the accused through cyber trails and bank accounts.
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