Mumbai: A 69-year-old resident of Mulund (East) was put under "digital arrest" and cheated of ₹15 lakh by a caller who posed as a CBI officer from Bengaluru, Mumbai's East Cyber police station has said. A case of impersonation, cheating and fraud was registered against an unidentified person on Tuesday.
Between September 27 and October 14, the caller reached the man on WhatsApp while he was at his homes in Guhagar in Ratnagiri district and in Mulund (East). He identified himself as "CBI officer Sandeep Diwan" and threatened to arrest the man and his son, alleging links to terrorist activity and money laundering.
The caller claimed that a man named Sadakat Khan had opened a Canara Bank account in the complainant's name and run 155 transactions worth ₹3 crore through it. He also claimed Khan had paid the complainant ₹30 lakh, or 10 per cent of the amount, and that one of 187 ATM cards recovered from Khan was in the complainant's name.
"Describing the case as a national security matter, the accused sent a purported police complaint bearing the victim's name and coerced him into transferring ₹15 lakh to a Yes Bank account. The team have sought details from the bank and have instructed to freeze the accounts," an East Cyber police officer said.
The caller rang repeatedly and warned the man not to tell his son. On October 14 the complainant was made to transfer ₹15 lakh, after which the caller demanded another ₹10 lakh. He then told his son, and filed an online complaint on November 2.
The allegations are under investigation and no one has been convicted.
Digital-arrest scams are before the Supreme Court in a batch of petitions. In an order after the October 29 hearing, the court asked WhatsApp and other platforms to place on record the steps they have taken against such frauds.