MUMBAI/ THANE: A retired executive with a steel manufacturing giant lost Rs 71 lakh to cyber fraudsters who posed as Customs and CBI officers and threatened him with a fake arrest warrant.
His son and granddaughter walked into the room while the scammers were recording the senior citizen’s “statement over video,” but they were asked to step outside.
On Sept 24, the senior citizen received a phone call from an unknown number where the caller posed as a Customs officer from Delhi airport.
He said that a parcel was being sent to Singapore in the complainant’s name and it contained passports and drugs. The scammer had got the complainant’s name right, which convinced him that the call was authentic. Next, he received a video call and was asked to lock himself in a room.
He was asked to produce his Aadhaar card before the camera, and after a 10-minute-long “interrogation,” a document that said “confidentiality agreement asset seizure order warrant of arrest” was sent over. He was accused of money laundering and of receiving Rs 38 crore illegally into his bank account.
Then another scammer, posing as a CBI officer, spoke to the complainant. He told the complainant to get a fund legalisation certificate from a court in Delhi. When the senior citizen said he was too unwell to travel to Delhi, the accused asked him to pay money for the certificate.
He paid Rs 71.24 lakh and received a “notarised supervision acknowledgement certificate” in return. Much later, he realised that he was conned. An FIR was registered by the Mumbai Cyber Police.
In a separate case in Thane, a 54-year-old man from Naupada was duped of Rs 59 lakh by cyber fraudsters similarly posing as CBI and Customs officials.
The incident took place between Nov 26 and Dec 2. The complainant received multiple phone calls from an individual posing as a Delhi Customs officer. Much like the Mumbai case, the scammer scared the complainant that a parcel in his name was found with drugs inside it and the case would be probed by the CBI.
Next, another fraudster posing as a CBI officer spoke to the complainant and even sent across his ID card photo over WhatsApp to convince him. He claimed that the complainant was found linked to serious offences, including human trafficking and money laundering.
To resolve the matter, he was required to pay up and legalise funds. Driven by fear and constant pressure from the accused to make payment, the complainant transferred money. Once he transferred Rs 59 lakh totally, he realised that he fell prey to a scam.