Mumbai: Cyber police impersonator scams engineer of Rs 19.14 lakh

A person impersonating a Mumbai police Cyber Crime Cell officer defrauded a software engineer from Ahmedabad of Rs 1914 lakh The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime police initiated an investigation after the accused falsely implicated the victim in a case involving weapons drugs and money launderingPretending to connect her with the Mumbai police Cyber Cell the imposter gained access to her documents and secured an immediate loan of R19 lakh transferring the funds to various accountsAs per the FIR the complainant Khushboo Shah received a call from an unknown number on December 22 where the caller posing as Harshvardhan accused her of sending a suspicious parcel from Mumbai to Iran containing five expired passports four SBI credit cards 450 grams of the drug MD and a significant amount was paid to send the parcelShah in her statement to the police asserted that she refuted sending any such parcel and began avoiding the calls Despite her denials the accused insisted that a complaint had been lodged with the Narcotic Department To resolve the situation he claimed she needed a noobjection certificate from the Mumbai Cyber Cell departmentSubsequently the caller feigned transferring the call to the Mumbai polices Cyber Cell unit Moments later Shah was instructed to initiate a Skype call during which she had to search for a profile of Mumbai Cyber Crime East complete with the Mumbai police logoAfter submitting her Aadhaar card and other documents she was informed that numerous bank accounts were linked to her Aadhaar card potentially implicating her in money laundering Further a photo depicting a person with a weapon and cash was sent falsely identifying her as one of the accused in the crimeDuring her conversation with midday Shah revealed ldquoI shared all the documents and even provided the OTP being under the impression that it was required for a clearance certificate Engaging me in a video call the cybercriminals posing as a female inspector and a guiding male officer with the camera off carried out the fraudulent act They exploited the net banking process obtaining the OTP from me and swiftly securing an instant loan Khusboo explainedldquoAfter hours of conversation I pleaded for a break and asked to use the washroom but her request was denied She managed to discreetly inform her mother about the suspicious call and courier situation Her mother advised filing a complaint at the police station immediately Upon disconnecting the call I discovered a loan message indicating a total of Rs 1994 lakh had been taken implicating me in the fraudrdquo she added Urging others to approach the police promptly in such situations she emphasised the importance of not succumbing to fear especially when criminals exploit the name of a Mumbai Cyber Crime officer for their deceitful activitiesThe Cybercrime police of Ahmedabad are investigating the matter and have also informed the Mumbai police about the modus used by the fraudstersJitendra Yadav ACP Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime said ldquoThe fraudsters are using the names of different agencies and cheating people In such cases call the police for verification The local police will help themrdquoRs 19lAmount scamsters defrauded