Top executive of Mumbai IT firm duped of Rs 6.3 Crore in Pune’s largest online scam
By Aishwarya Nair | First Published Nov 21, 2024, 1:07 PM ISTA 59-year-old senior executive from a Mumbai software company fell victim to a large-scale online scam orchestrated by cybercriminals posing as CBI officers. The fraudsters deceived the victim into transferring Rs 6.29 crore, claiming it was part of a money laundering investigation linked to his phone number.
A senior executive at a Mumbai software company was defrauded of Rs 6.29 crore in one of the largest online scams reported by Pune Cyber Police. The 59-year-old victim was deceived by cybercriminals posing as CBI officers, who held him under a "digital arrest" for five days, from November 9 to November 14, under the pretense of verifying and investigating money laundering activities linked to his mobile phone number.
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Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber) Vivek Masal told TOI, " "The victim, who will retire from service in the next six months, was thoroughly disturbed when he approached us with a complaint. We took him into confidence and counselled him into complaining and registered an FIR. A police team has been formed to analyse the audio-video calls between the crooks and the victim and details of the bank accounts where money was transferred to establish the money trail."
He added, "We have sent emails to the telecom companies and the banks concerned to provide call data records and statements of accounts at the earliest."
TOI quoted Pune Cyber police's senior inspector Swapnali Shinde as saying, "The crooks contacted the victim over a mobile messenger application and informed him that he was placed under digital arrest for his suspected involvement in a money laundering case. The victim slipped into panic mode when the crooks told him that they had his Aadhaar card details."
The fraudsters instructed the victim to provide a photocopy of their Aadhar card and details of the funds in their bank accounts for verification. They gathered information about the victim's Rs 6.29 crore across three accounts, claiming it was part of an investigation. The criminals then convinced the victim to transfer the money to their own bank accounts, stating it was in line with Reserve Bank of India regulations. They assured the victim that the money would be returned after the inquiry, provided they were not implicated in any money laundering activities, Shinde explained.
According to the police, the victim, believing the fraudsters were from the CBI, followed their instructions and made five online and RTGS transactions to transfer the money to their bank accounts. When the crooks demanded further transfers, the victim stated he was unable to send any more funds.
At this point, the fraudsters pressured the victim to take out a loan of Rs 60 lakh to resolve the issue, threatening to send a police team to arrest him if he refused. They further intimidated him by stating that they had previously imprisoned others in similar situations.
The victim eventually stopped responding to the fraudsters upon realizing he had been deceived. However, he continued to receive threatening calls about his arrest until November 19, Shinde stated.
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