Digital arrest: Cybercrooks pose as CBI, con 79-yr-old of ₹38L

Digital arrest: Cybercrooks pose as CBI, con 79-yr-old of ₹38L 

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Chaithanya.Swamy@timesofindia.com  12.09.2024 

Bengaluru : When a caller told him that his mobile phone would be disconnected shortly by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as it was reportedly used for illegal activities, the septuagenarian was alarmed. That fear marked the beginning of a cybercrime drama and culminated in him losing Rs 38 lakh to fraudsters. Shankar (name changed), 79, a retired govt official and a resident of CV Raman Nagar, was kept under ‘digital arrest’ and was forced by the fraudsters to transfer his money to fake accounts. 

According to the complaint, Shankar received a call from the number 9924728959 on August 27 and the caller in troduced herself as Tina Sharma from TRAI. She told him that a connection had been taken by someone in his name using his Aadhaar number. Tina told him that there were several violations on the number, such as it being used for illegal advertisements and other activities. While Shankar wondered what had gone wrong, Tina said she would connect him to Vikram Singh, who claimed to be an officer of the CBI Crime Branch (Mumbai). The impersonator threatened Shankar that the latter had to kept in the CBI’s custody for 90 days if an inquiry was tobe conducted as per normal procedure. 

A shocked Shankar tried explaining to them that it was not his number and that he was too old to face the probe. Singh told him that, considering he’s a senior citizen, they would make a virtual inquiry and connect the call to another person named Kumar Ravikant Singh. Ravikant introduced himself as the private secretary to the minister of state for finance in Delhi and enquired about the property Shankar owned, bank accounts, and balances. They recorded his statement about bank accounts and asked him to transfer all balances from his three bank accounts to the account number given by them. When asked why the money needed tobe transferred to a private company, he clarified that the   account be longed to a notary appointed to inquire about his financial accounts. Initially, Shankar transferred Rs 2.1 lakh to the account of the ‘notary’. 

The fraudsters sent him a fake acknowledgement of the State Bank of India. They ended the inquiry for the day and instructed him to be ready by 10am on August 28 for further investigation. However, they warned him not to reveal their call to anyone as it was a case of money laundering and asked him to lock himself at home. They watched his movements on an online video call till 6pm. Later, they asked him to turn off the video and keep the audio on for surveillance. 

Around 10pm, they ended the call. The next morning, the fraudsters enquired about his investment in shares. They instructed him to close all the stocks in one-go. On August 29, Ravikant asked him to transfer Rs 27.5 lakh to the account in the name of ‘Chauhan Enterprises’. On August 30, the fraudster told Shankar to break his senior citizen deposits and transfer money. This amount was transferred to an account held in the name of ‘Mateswari Transport’. On September 2, Ravikant sent him a bail sanction order letter and asked him to pay Rs 6.8 lakh as a security deposit. As Shankar had run out of money, he sent Rs 49,500 through a digital payment application to Mohammed Amjad Khan, Amjadkhn89-2@okhdfcbank. 

The fraudsters assured him that he need not panic as the finance department would transfer all his amount to his accounts the next day, which didn’t happen. A senior officer said the case is registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 318 (cheating) and the Information Technology Act at East CEN Crime police station