Mumbai Digital Scam: A 68-year-old retired woman from Andheri West in Mumbai was allegedly cheated out of more than Rs 3 crore in a “digital arrest” scam. Fraudsters pretended to be former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, as well as CBI and police officers. The scam started in August with a phone call from someone posing as a police official.
After that, the woman received several WhatsApp video calls from different numbers. The callers claimed a bank account had been opened in her name using her Aadhaar card and was linked to illegal transactions of Rs 6 crore.
When she denied any involvement in such an account, the fraudsters sent her fabricated documents, including a fake police complaint and papers with a CBI logo, to lend credibility to their allegations, as per NDTV.
The scammers threatened to arrest her family members and warned her not to speak to anyone about it. They claimed she was under constant surveillance and that legal action was already in progress.
Scammers Pretended To Be CJI Chandrachud
In one video call, a man posing as “Judge Chandrachud” questioned her and later informed her that bail had been rejected. She was then told to transfer all her money for 'verification' to prove it was legitimately earned.
Out of fear of police action, the woman liquidated her mutual funds and sent Rs 3.71 crore to several accounts via RTGS, NDTV reported. She realised the scam only when the fraudsters asked for more money. The victim has now filed a complaint with the cyber police, providing chat records, call logs, bank statements and transaction details.