80-Year-Old Mumbai Woman Duped Of Rs 1 Crore, Fraudsters Posed As Cops

An 80-year-old woman in Mumbai's Dadar was duped of a whopping Rs 1.08 crore at the behest of fraudsters who posed as fake police and government officers. The victim, who has been living in Dadar for 60 years, relies solely on her pension and savings. She maintains multiple bank accounts. The fraud began following a series of phone calls that started on October 27.

The woman received a call from a man who identified himself as Vijay Khanna, an official of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Vijay told the elderly woman that her mobile number would be deactivated in two hours, as her Aadhar card was used in a serious crime.

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The man told the woman to take part in an online inquiry and sent her a fake Aadhar Misuse Complaint using her name on WhatsApp.

Victim Falsely Accused Of Money Laundering

A short while later, the woman received a call from the same number (from which Vijay called). This time, the caller identified himself as a police officer in Colaba.

"You are accused in a money laundering case... and your co-accused is businessman Naresh Goyal," the officer said.

Before the victim could respond, the call was transferred to a woman who identified herself as IPS Rashmi Shukla.

In an intimidating voice, Rashmi told the victim that the police could arrest the woman any time, and to avoid this, she must immediately provide details of all her bank accounts.

The Fake Authenticity

The fraudsters tried to make the case appear so credible that they even sent a fake notarised supervision message, arrest letter, and NOC verification documents on WhatsApp.

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The fake IPS officer Rashmi told the victim, "If you transfer the money to the accounts we provide for verification, we will refund the entire amount and issue you a PCC within 72 hours."

From October 31 to November 7, the 80-year-old woman, under fear, transferred a total of Rs 1.08 crore to three different bank accounts using RTGS and NEFT.

Each time, she was told the same thing: "Madam, the money will be returned as soon as the verification is complete."

But not just 72 hours, but several days passed. The fraudsters would sometimes make excuses and sometimes not answer calls. Eventually, they blocked the number completely.

The Realisation And The Police Complaint

When the woman received no response, she realised that she was the victim of a cybercrime. On November 13, she filed a complaint with the National Cyber ​​Helpline.

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Following this, the Central Region Cyber ​​Police Station registered an FIR. Police have filed a case against two unidentified accused and the account holders of the bank accounts where the money was transferred.

The police have registered a case under sections of cheating, impersonation, criminal intimidation, and cyber fraud and have begun an investigation.