71-yr-old woman loses ₹4.82 cr to frauds posing as TRAI, Customs officials | Mumbai news
MUMBAI: A 71-year-old woman was cheated of ₹4.82 crore by cyber frauds posing as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Customs officials, and judge. The Central Cyber police station registered a case on Thursday based on the complaint lodged by the senior citizen, who resides at RP Masani Road in Matunga East.
₹4.82 crore by cyber frauds posing as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Customs officials. (Shutterstock)” title=”A 71-year-old woman was cheated of ₹4.82 crore by cyber frauds posing as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Customs officials. (Shutterstock)” />According to the police, the woman was cornered by the frauds into a fake court trial on a WhatsApp video call and coerced into paying up the money through digital transfers.
It all began with a call to the woman from an unknown number on December 19, 2024, asking her to re-charge her phone. Two days later, another caller from the same number instructed her to press 9 to talk to a customer care executive. When she pressed the number, a person spoke to her posing as a TRAI officer.
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“She was told that some other random number was registered in her name which was used in the commission of number of serious offences like child kidnapping, sending obscene messages to women, and ₹68 million fraud,” said a police officer from Cyber police station. “She was further told that the customer care officer, Rajeev Sinha, was investigating her case.”
Two days later, she received a call from the ‘customer care’ officer, who told her that she must be available continuously on video call while the investigation was underway. The next day, another caller, identifying himself as a Customs official, asked her to wear white clothes as the ‘court’ was about to hear her case. She was shown a court-like set up on the WhatsApp video call and a fake ‘judge’ appeared on the screen and convicted her.
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Later, one of the gang members called her up and assured her that they will help her settle the matter out of court in lieu of certain payments. “He asked her to deposit money in various bank accounts provided by him. Scared of facing a jail term, she withdrew her mutual fund investments, fixed deposits, and savings and deposited around ₹4.82 crore in their accounts through 11 transactions,” said the police officer.
However, the gang continued to harass her more money, which raised the woman’s suspicions. Around the same time, she also saw a TV advertisement creating awareness about cybercrimes and realised that she, too, had fallen prey to one.
“She then lodged a complaint on the cyber helpline 1930 and later approached the police,” said the police officer.
The police have registered a case against unknown persons under sections 204 (impersonating a public servant), 318 (4) (cheating), 319 (2) (cheating by personation) and 336 (2) (forgery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
