Bengaluru: Rs 1.52 crore fraud in the name of Mumbai police, case registered

Bengaluru resident falls victim to a ₹1.52 crore fraud by impersonators posing as Mumbai Cyber Crime Police officials. Coerced under false drug exportation charges, Das complied with instructions, transferring funds. The scam unraveled after the money transfer, prompting a police case in the Southern Division CEN station.

A shocking case of fraud has come to the limelight in Bengaluru, with Debashis Das, a resident of L&T South City in Mico Layout, falling victim to a fraudulent scheme resulting in a loss of ₹1.52 crore. The miscreants, impersonating officials from the Mumbai Cyber Crime Police, coerced Das by threatening him over alleged drug exportation.

The incident unfolded when Das was approached by an individual identifying as Karthikeya, purportedly an employee of FedEx Courier Company, on November 10. Claiming to be speaking from the Mumbai office, the impersonator stated that a parcel registered in Das's name by Zhang Lin from Taiwan contained 5 old passports, 6 ICICI Bank credit cards, and 950 grams of MDMA drugs, prompting an FIR by Mumbai NCB officials.

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Under the guise of assistance, the scammer guided Das to file a complaint online with the Andheri Cyber Crime Branch in Mumbai. Trusting the impersonator, Das engaged in a video call through an app provided by the fraudster, encountering another individual posing as Inspector Pradeep Sawant from Andheri Cyber Crime Station. Displaying a counterfeit identity card, the imposter convinced Das to share personal documents, including Aadhaar card details.

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Subsequently, the scammers fabricated a false narrative, asserting that Islam Mallik had initiated hawala money transactions using three bank accounts in Das's name, leading to a money laundering case. Promising innocence in exchange for compliance, the fraudsters instructed Das to withdraw money from his accounts, amounting to ₹1.52 crore, and transfer it to a specified bank account under the pretence of complying with RBI guidelines for swift clearance of the case.

After Das complied and transferred the funds, the connection with the fake police contacts abruptly ceased, leading Das to realize he had fallen prey to a fraudulent scheme. The Southern Division CEN station has registered a case regarding this elaborate scam.