87-year-old doctor duped of Rs 46 lakh by cyber fraudsters

Pune: A Pune-based 87-year-old retired doctor was allegedly cheated of Rs 46 lakh by online fraudsters who posed as officials of the Mumbai Crime Branch and threatened him with arrest in a fabricated money laundering case, police said.

According to the Pune Cyber Police, the fraud took place between May 24 and May 26, when the victim was contacted by someone claiming to be law enforcement officers. The complainant, a retired doctor who previously worked with a prominent international health organisation and is now settled in Pune, lodged a complaint on Sunday. The case has since been transferred to the Deccan Gymkhana Police for further investigation.

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Speaking to TOI, Senior Inspector Swapnali Shinde of the Pune Cyber police said, “The suspects made a video call to the medical practitioner and claimed to be officials of the Mumbai Crime Branch. They told him that they were investigating a money laundering case involving a former airline owner. The fraudsters claimed that individuals involved in the case misused the medical practitioner’s Aadhaar card. They told him that the investigation was being conducted under the directive of the Supreme Court and threatened him with arrest.”

Shinde said that the fraudsters kept him under constant pressure by repeatedly warning him of arrest and later offered to settle the case in exchange for money, sharing details of six different bank accounts.

Believing their claim, the doctor transferred Rs 46 lakh to those accounts through his mobile banking facility. He also attempted additional transactions of Rs 25 lakh, but the money was not transferred due to a mobile network failure.

Officials said the victim began suspecting foul play only after he attempted to verify the claims online and came across information about “digital arrest” scams, a growing form of cyber fraud in which criminals impersonate law enforcement agencies to extort money.

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