80-Year-Old Mumbai Woman Loses Rs 1.08 Crore in Elaborate Police Impersonation Scam

Fraudsters enhanced their credibility by utilizing counterfeit copies of official documentation (Representational)

Mumbai:

An elderly woman, aged 80, residing in Mumbai's Dadar area became the victim of a massive fraud amounting to Rs 1.08 crore perpetrated by scammers impersonating police and government officials. The victim, who has called Dadar home for six decades, survives on her pension and personal savings while maintaining several bank accounts. This elaborate scam commenced with a sequence of telephone calls beginning on October 27.

The senior citizen received a call from an individual who introduced himself as Vijay Khanna, claiming to represent the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). He informed the woman that her mobile number would be deactivated within two hours, alleging her Aadhar card had been implicated in a serious criminal activity.

The caller persuaded the woman to participate in an online investigation and transmitted a fraudulent Aadhar Misuse Complaint featuring her name via WhatsApp.

Subsequently, the woman received another call from the identical number. This time, the caller claimed to be a police officer stationed at Colaba.

"You are implicated in a money laundering investigation... and your co-accused is businessman Naresh Goyal," stated the supposed officer.

Before the victim could formulate a response, the call was transferred to a woman identifying herself as IPS Rashmi Shukla.

Using intimidation tactics, the fake Rashmi informed the victim that she faced imminent arrest, and to avoid this outcome, she must immediately disclose details of all her banking accounts.

To enhance the appearance of legitimacy, the scammers sent fabricated documents including a notarised supervision message, arrest letter, and NOC verification documents through WhatsApp.

The impersonator posing as IPS officer Rashmi told the victim, "If you transfer funds to our provided accounts for verification purposes, we will reimburse the entire amount and issue a PCC within 72 hours."

Between October 31 and November 7, the elderly woman, operating under duress, transferred a total sum of Rs 1.08 crore to three separate bank accounts using RTGS and NEFT methods.

With each transfer, she received the same assurance: "Madam, the money will be returned once verification is completed."

However, the promised 72-hour timeframe elapsed, and many more days passed. The perpetrators began making excuses or ignoring calls altogether. Eventually, they blocked her number completely.

When all communication ceased, the woman realized she had fallen victim to a cybercrime scheme. On November 13, she submitted a complaint to the National Cyber Helpline.

Following her report, the Central Region Cyber Police Station registered an FIR. Authorities have filed charges against unidentified suspects and the holders of the bank accounts that received the transferred funds.

Police have registered a case incorporating charges of cheating, impersonation, criminal intimidation, and cyber fraud, and have initiated an investigation into the matter.