A 39-year-old software engineer fell victim to a ‘digital bust’ scam and lost Rs 11.8 crore when fraudsters posing as police officials alleged that his Aadhaar card was misused to open bank accounts for money laundering, police said Monday.
The fraud took place between Nov. 25 and Dec. 12, they said.
According to police, the victim in his complaint alleged that he received a call on November 11 from a person claiming to be an official of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The alleged agent alleged that his SIM card, which was linked to the Aadhaar card, was used for illegal advertisements and harassing messages.
The fraudster further claimed that a case had been registered in this regard at the Colaba Cyber Police Station in Mumbai.
Later, he received a call from a person posing as a police officer and claiming that his Aadhaar details were being misused to open bank accounts for money laundering, the FIR said.
The fraudster warned him to keep the matter confidential and also threatened him that if he did not cooperate with the virtual investigation, he would be physically arrested.
He then also received a call from someone asking him to download the Skype app, after which a man, reportedly dressed in a Mumbai police uniform, called him on video and claimed that a businessman had opened a bank account using his Aadhaar to to carry out transactions worth Rs 6 crore, the FIR further stated.
However, on November 25, another man in police uniform called him via Skype and claimed that his case was pending in the top court and threatened to arrest his family if he did not comply, the complainant said.
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Citing bogus guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the fraudsters allegedly asked him to transfer money to certain accounts on the pretext of “verification purposes” or face legal consequences.
According to the FIR, the victim transferred a total amount of Rs 11.8 crore in multiple transactions to different bank accounts over a period of time, fearing arrest. However, when they started demanding more money, the victim realized that he had fallen prey to fraudsters and filed a complaint with the police.
A case has been registered under the IT Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating and cheating by impersonation, the police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
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