KEM doctor swindled out of Rs 7.33 lakh by cyber fraudsters

Mumbai: A senior resident doctor working at King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital, Mumbai has been duped of ₹7.33 lakh by perpetrators, initially impersonating courier company executives and later assuming the guise of Mumbai cyber police officials. 

The accused even exploited the name of Navi-Mumbai police commissioner Milind Bharambe to create an illusion of legitimacy during the fraudulent operation. 

The police have registered a case against unknown people under sections 419 (personation for cheating), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery) and 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc). According to the police, Sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, were also invoked in the case.

The incident unfolded on February 29 when the 27-year-old doctor received a call at KEM Hospital from an unknown number, purportedly from FedEx courier services. The caller informed her that a parcel traced at Mumbai airport in her name contained 5 passports, 3 credit cards, 140 grams of MDMA pills, clothes, and a laptop, allegedly sent to someone in Taiwan. The caller directed her to speak with their customer care executive to address the situation, who later transferred the call to the cyber police.

Under the guise of the cyber police, the doctor was questioned about the alleged parcel she had sent to Taiwan. When she denied involvement, the fake cyber crime department official advised her to register an offence online. To substantiate the ruse, the fraudster even sent her a fabricated letter signed by 'DCP Cyber,' Milind Bharambe. The doctor was instructed to stay in a hotel near her bank (HDFC), and subsequently, she booked a room at Hotel Midtown Pritam in Dadar East, reports Hindustan Times.

“She spoke from this hotel room to the fraudsters on video call. She was sent a bank letter and told to deposit Rs 6.84 lakh, which the fraudsters said would be refunded once all her financial transactions are checked. She was made to deposit another Rs 48,000,” he said. “She stayed there on February 29 and returned home the next day, when she received a call from the fake police officer, who informed her that she would get a letter from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

A letter from RBI arrived from an unknown number, stating that for the money laundering case, her code was 684315 and that she would have to deposit a sum of ₹6,84,315 in RBI after which the banking regulator would verify all her bank accounts and half-an-hour later her money would be returned to her,” said the police officer from Bhoiwada police station.

According to The Daily, she was informed that her bank accounts were being examined when she contacted the fictitious police officer a short while later to ask why she had not received her money back from RBI. She was also questioned by the crook regarding the amount of money that was left in her account. “When she told him that the balance in her account was ₹76,261, he told her that she needed to file nine affidavits, as they had decided to give her a clean chit. The charge for each affidavit was ₹5,000 and therefore, she was required to pay ₹48,800, including application fee,” said the police officer.

The fraudsters manipulated the doctor by creating a sense of urgency and a faux law enforcement scenario, eventually swindling ₹7.33 lakh from her. During the final stage of the con, her roommate came to know about the ordeal and told her that she might have been duped. Realising that she had been duped, the victim approached Bhoiwada police station on Thursday, after which a case was registered. 

The Mumbai cyber police are actively investigating the case to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice. 

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