Woman Loses Rs 37.9 Lakh To Online Scammers

A 74-year-old retired woman from the city fell victim via WhatsApp to scammers who claimed that they were from the Andheri police station.

The callers said that an FIR had been registered in her name alleging that her mobile number was sending harassing texts and advertisements. They warned her that TRAI would deactivate all mobile numbers linked to her Aadhaar number within 24 hours.

The scammers sent fake letters from the "CBI" and "RBI", claiming that her bank account was involved in illegal transactions related to the international money laundering case of Naresh Goyal, the Chairman of Jet Airways, that was being investigated by the ED.

The conmen demanded that the victim disclose her bank account details, threatening to freeze her accounts and arrest her if she did not comply. They also instructed her to deposit funds into a "Reserve Bank of India" account that would be returned if she was proven innocent, and even promised interest.

Fearing for her safety, the victim withdrew money from her fixed deposits (her pension benefits) and transferred Rs 37,90,000 into the scammers' account via RTGS.

The fraudsters also posed as a secret agency, and ordered her not to disclose the conversation to anyone. The woman however filed a complaint with the police later.

The police have cautioned people not to deposit money into unknown bank accounts based on false promises, and said that anyone who becomes a victim of cybercrime should immediately call 1930 or register a case at cybercrime.gov.in.

In case of an emergency related to cybercrime fraud, please call 100 or 112.