The Supreme Court on Tuesday filed a cyber crime complaint against an imposter who allegedly impersonated Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and requested money for cab fare. The CJI took note of the viral message and apprised the Supreme Court's security department, which in turn filed a complaint with the Delhi Police.
The scammer, in the now-viral message, demanded Rs 500 from an X user for cab fare, asserting that he had to attend a Collegium meeting.
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“Hello, I am CJI and we have urgent meeting of the collegium and I am stuck at Cannaught Place can you send me 500rs for cab? I will return the money once I reach the court,” the viral message read.
A fraudster, who impersonated the Chief Justice of India by using his name as a handle and his picture as the display image, added "sent from iPad" at the end of the message to make the scam more convincing.
Earlier in March, a 42-year-old man was arrested for duping two people of Rs 4 lakh on the pretext of selling luxury cars and costly cell phones. He impersonated a Delhi Police crime branch officer to do so. The police also recovered a fake ID card from his possession.
The accused Ayub Khan had previously been involved in four similar cheating cases, according to the police, with cases registered at the Kamla Market, Daryaganj, Hari Nagar, and Parliament Street police stations in Delhi.
According to I4C, an initiative by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), India is experiencing a surge in cybercrime incidents, many of which are originating from the Southeast Asian region. This area has become a hub for significant investment and stock market scams, digital fraud, fake gaming apps, and related activities.