Fake police, fake FIR in Naresh Goyal case: Mumbai woman lawyer stripped naked on video call, duped Rs 50,000
By Sunita Iyer | First Published Sep 14, 2024, 11:16 AM ISTA 36-year-old woman lawyer from Andheri (East), Mumbai, was coerced into stripping naked during a video call and transferring Rs 50,000 to scammers posing as cyber police.
In a shocking case of cyber fraud, a 36-year-old woman lawyer from Andheri (East), Mumbai, was coerced into stripping naked during a video call and transferring Rs 50,000 to scammers posing as cyber police. The distressing incident unfolded recently and has left the victim grappling with significant emotional and financial trauma.
The fraudsters initially threatened the victim with arrest in a money laundering case. To avoid this purported legal trouble, they instructed her to check into a hotel in Powai and make an electronic money transfer. Under the guise of a "confidential inquiry," the scammers convinced the woman to be at an isolated location, where she was purportedly inspected by a female officer for "weapons and injury marks."
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The woman lawyer, who was led to believe that this was a standard procedure to verify a suspect's identity, complied with the demands. During the call, she was instructed to strip naked, which she did under the pressure of the situation. Subsequently, the scammers directed her to transfer Rs 50,000 to their bank account.
The deception became apparent to the victim later in the day when she continued to receive threatening messages for additional money along with her nude photographs. Realizing she had been scammed, she approached the Powai police station for help.
According to police officers, the scam began when the victim received a call while she was at a mall in Powai. The caller, posing as an official from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), informed her that her SIM card was involved in a money laundering case and would be deactivated. This prompted the victim to seek clearance from the alleged police officers.
The victim was then connected to an individual pretending to be a police officer from the Andheri cyber cell. This fake officer claimed that an FIR had been filed against her in connection with a case involving Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, who had recently been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The victim was told that she would face arrest if she did not cooperate.
In a state of panic, the lawyer followed the instructions and checked into the Powai hotel. Once there, she was directed to stand naked while being video-inspected, purportedly to check for weapons and injury marks. This personal humiliation was compounded by the scammers' demand for the money transfer.
The fraud was exposed when the victim, after recounting the incident to her husband, realized the enormity of the scam. She reported the incident to the police, who have since been investigating the case. Officers have contacted the bank where the money was transferred to obtain details of the account used by the scammers and have requested the account be blocked. The cyber team is actively working on tracing the bank account holder to apprehend the culprits.
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