Cyber Fraudsters Pose As Cops; Loot INR 7.33 Lakh From Mumbai Doctor
Dr. Blessy Esther, a 27-year-old doctor at a civic-run hospital in Mumbai, fell victim to a cyber swindle and lost INR 7.33 lakh to a con artist posing as a police official. The scammer initially pretended to be from a courier firm and informed Dr. Esther that authorities at Mumbai’s airport had confiscated a package addressed to her. The package allegedly contained passports, credit cards, drugs, clothing, and a laptop.
The fraud intensified when the caller claimed to have transferred the phone to cyber police. Dr. Esther denied knowledge of the parcel, but was recommended to make a police report. Later, the fraudster, posing as a police officer, video called Dr. Esther, showing the Mumbai police emblem and claimed that bogus bank accounts were opened in her name to fund terrorist activities.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the accused went a step further by sending the complainant a letter alleging to be from the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber) and containing a fake sign of Navi Mumbai Commissioner Milind Bharambe. In this letter, the complainant received notice of an anticipated correspondence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
Following this, the complaint received a message from an unknown phone number, purportedly from the RBI. According to the official statement, the complainant received a message with a code instructing her to deposit INR 6.8 lakh into a certain bank account to authenticate her multiple accounts.
The doctor followed these directions and transferred the appropriate money to the bank account given in the letter. The accused requested an additional payment of INR 48,800 for writing affidavits to clear her of any possible allegations.
Dr. Esther, seeing she had been duped, reported the event to the authorities. The case has been filed under the appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
