Posing as Mumbai Cyber cops, gang cheats City man of Rs.15 lakh

Mysore/Mysuru: A stranger posing as a Cyber Crime Police personnel from Mumbai has cheated a person from the city of Rs. 15 lakh.

According to a complaint lodged by the victim identified as Anmol of JP Nagar at Cyber, Economic and Narcotics Crime (CEN) Police Station in the city, he got a call on his cell phone from a stranger on May 6. The caller reportedly told Anmol about his Aadhaar number link used to smuggle narcotics from Mumbai to Taiwan through FedEx global transport firm, only to threaten him.

Later Anmol received another call, where the caller introduced himself as Naresh Gupta, a Police Officer from Mumbai. He allegedly told Anmol to lodge a complaint in this regard at Mumbai Cyber Crime Branch. But, Anmol expressed his helplessness to physically appear at Cyber Crime Branch, saying that he was a resident of Mysuru. Later, the caller told him to communicate through SKYPE over a video call.

The unsuspecting Anmol came on SKYPE and obliged the latter’s request for his Aadhaar number and bank account details. He also moved to a hotel nearby as instructed by the caller, where he stayed for two days. He did so believing that it was actually Mumbai Cyber Crime Police who had contacted him. 

During his stay at the hotel, he got a call again with the perpetrator coercing him to transfer the amount in his bank account to verify his claims. Gradually, Rs. 15 lakh was transferred from Anmol’s bank account to another bank account given by the perpetrator.

It was only later, Anmol got a wind of being taken for a ride by a racket of fraudsters and lodged a complaint with CEN Police here.

With Aadhaar number made mandatory to buy SIM card, mobile phone and to avail several other services, the people are easily vulnerable to frauds. This being the situation, Anmol may also have been trapped in a similar way. But the people should be beware of such rackets and desist from transferring money to avoid being cheated by the criminals. Instead, they should inform nearby Police Station or CEN Police Station, as the assistance of Police may come in handy in falling into the trap of such fraudsters.