I am Smita Patil speaking from the crime branch, you are a suspect in a money laundering case,” a 32-year-old professional technical consultant, who has been duped of lakhs of rupees, was told by a scammer. The caller had identified herself as Smita Patil, an officer from the Andheri cyber crime cell. The Vakola police have filed an FIR and initiated an investigation into this matter.

First call on Aug 7

According to the complaint filed by the victim, she received a call from around 6.30 pm on August 7, claiming that a parcel sent from Mumbai to Taiwan had been intercepted by customs after illegal items were found in it. The victim informed the caller that she had not sent any such parcel. Patil instructed the victim to verify all her details, including her Aadhaar card details and mobile number. Patil then informed her that she and her bank account were suspects in a money laundering case. The woman, frightened by the caller’s claims, denied any involvement.