• Source:JND

A 56-year-old man in Mumbai lost a staggering Rs 12.81 crore after being put under "digital arrest" for almost a month by scammers who made him think he was being investigated for illicit activity. On July 19, a man by the name of Naga Chimit first got in touch with the victim, who was unemployed and dependent on inherited assets. The victim received a WhatsApp video call from someone claiming to be Mumbai Crime Branch Inspector Vikram Singh after they had his Aadhaar number and credentials.

The man was put under "digital arrest" after the fictitious officer, who was sitting in what looked like a police station and wearing a police uniform, told him that he was involved in money laundering and other unlawful acts.

Over the course of a month, the victim was forced to transfer substantial quantities of money to multiple bank accounts that the scammers provided in order to clear his name. He was placed under digital arrest until August 12, according to the FIR.

The victim didn't realise he had been tricked until November, at which point he complained to the police.

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Using the phone number and bank account information the fraudsters supplied, authorities are currently looking into the case and trying to track them down.

In another incident, scammers posing as police authorities forced a 26-year-old woman in Mumbai to strip during a video conversation last month and defrauded her of Rs 1.7 lakh by claiming that her name had surfaced in a money laundering investigation.

The public has been cautioned by authorities to exercise caution and not fall for such scams.


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