Jet Airways Angle Used to Con Retired Doctor of ₹2.89 Crore in Digital Detention Fraud

Mumbai: In a recent cyber fraud case, a 70-year-old retired doctor from Mumbai was duped of Rs 2.89 crore in a digital detention scam. The fraudsters, posing as government officials, reportedly convinced her that she was implicated in a money laundering investigation.

According to the cyber police, the scam began on May 28, when the victim received a call from a man who identified himself as Amit Kumar from the Department of Telecommunications. He claimed that a new SIM card had been fraudulently obtained using her Aadhaar credentials, and that an FIR had been registered against her.

Shortly after, she received a WhatsApp message from someone claiming to be from the Cyber Crime Department, Mumbai, demanding her identity documents for verification. The deception escalated with a WhatsApp video call from a person impersonating IPS officer Samadhan Pawar from the Mumbai Crime Branch. The call reportedly lasted nearly 14 hours.

During the video call, the fraudster accused the doctor of involvement in a money laundering case allegedly connected to businessman and founder of Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal. He claimed that a raid on Goyal’s residence uncovered a bank account and debit card issued in her name. Despite her insistence that she had no connection to the case, the caller warned her that even a single rupee from illegal funds could land her in jail for three years.

To support their false claims, the fraudsters presented forged documents purportedly from the High Court, the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation, and the Reserve Bank of India. The official-looking documents left the doctor terrified.

Also Read: Doctor kept under Digital Arrest for 22 hours by Cyber Fraudsters

Later, a man in police uniform, who identified himself as Tyagi, spoke to her and her husband during the video call. He told the doctor that he was putting her under surveillance and she would have to report to them every hour. Pawar kept threatening to arrest her and told her to transfer her money into separate accounts for ‘scrutiny' with the assurance that it would be returned. Scared, she followed the instructions and transferred nearly Rs 3 crore, reports TOI.

The scam came to light when the victim’s husband recounted the incident to a relative, who immediately recognized it as fraud. Acting swiftly, the family contacted the Cyber Crime Cell, and a formal complaint was lodged at the West Region Cyber Police Station on June 5. The case is now under investigation by a team led by Senior Police Inspector Suvarna Shinde.

Also Read: 82-year-old doctor duped of Rs 1.2 crore in digital arrest fraud

According to the Free Press Journal, a formal investigation is now underway. Police believe the case is part of a growing wave of “digital detention” scams, where cybercriminals pose as law enforcement to intimidate victims—often elderly individuals—into handing over their money.