Scam
In today’s world, digital scams have become alarmingly common, and this recent incident in Mumbai highlights just how far cyber criminals will go to exploit innocent victims. A 77-year-old woman, living with her retired husband in South Mumbai, found herself at the center of an elaborate scam that lasted for more than a month. She lost Rs 3.8 crore, all while being kept under digital arrest by fraudsters posing as law enforcement.
The nightmare began when the woman received a WhatsApp call claiming that a parcel she supposedly sent to Taiwan contained illegal items like drugs and passports. The caller, pretending to be a police officer, told her that her Aadhaar card was involved in a money laundering case and urged her to connect with a so-called Mumbai police officer for further investigation.
Also read: Alert! This fake app circulating on WhatsApp targets UPI users, steals money
What followed was a twisted sequence of manipulative tactics. The woman was asked to download the Skype app, and was ordered to not to disconnect the call.
She was instructed to go to the bank and transfer money. She was told that money from her accounts would be returned after an investigation. To gain her trust, the fraudsters even returned Rs 15 lakh, making her believe that the whole process was legitimate.
Slowly, the scammers convinced her to transfer more funds under the pretext of clearing taxes and investigating further. Over the course of several weeks, she transferred a total of Rs 3.8 crore into various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.
It was only when she grew suspicious, due to a lack of any returned money and growing demands for more funds. The woman spoke to her daughter who warned her about the scam.
Also read: Noida woman loses Rs 34 lakh after fraudsters keep her in 24hrs digital arrest