Mumbai Medical College Dean put under digital house arrest, duped of Rs 48.28 lakh

Mumbai: Amid a surge in cyber fraud cases, where doctors are increasingly targeted by online scams, a dean from a prominent medical college in Mumbai fell victim to such a scheme, losing ₹48.28 lahks to scammers who kept her under "digital house arrest.''

The fraudsters, posing as police officers, falsely claimed that her Aadhaar was linked to illegal bank accounts and pressured her for payment by threatening her with arrest.

The 63-year-old woman doctor and dean of a medical college realised that she was scammed after completing 19 transactions with the fraudsters, driven by her fear of arrest, as the fraudsters alleged that her Aadhaar card was used to open three bank accounts in Uttar Pradesh for illegal activities.

She believed the scam to such an extent that led her to lose a significant amount out of fear. The alleged fraud took place when the dean received a video call from an unknown number with the caller identifying himself as Rajiv Kumar. The fraudster alleged that he worked for a telecom company.

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Before attempting to scam the dean, the fraudster cited an example involving a person named Sunil Kumar Mishra, claiming he had misused her Aadhaar card details to purchase a SIM card in Lucknow. The accused alleged that Mishra had also opened three bank accounts using her Aadhaar, which was being used for illegal activities, and urged her to file a police complaint.

After hearing the scammer, the dean was considering filing a complaint, however, she could not do so as the fraudster informed her that there were 17 FIRs registered against her, including a case of money laundering.

A police officer explaining the matter in detail told Indian Express, "While she was considering where to lodge a complaint, Kumar reached out to her again and informed her that there were 17 FIRs registered against her, including a case of money laundering, and that one ACP Pramod Kumar was investigating the matter. Subsequently, the fraudsters sent her an arrest warrant along with a document threatening to freeze her bank accounts. The doctor was further threatened that her son, who is based in the USA, would be called to India and arrested for the crime."

The accused claimed that he was conducting an e-investigation under the new Digital India movement and that she was under digital arrest. Following this, the doctor alleged that the fraudster called her repeatedly for two to three days asking her to deposit money to get herself out of the trouble.

“For two to three days, the fraudsters started calling me repeatedly and alleged that I would have to withdraw money from my fixed deposits, shares, and mutual funds investments and asked me to deposit it in the Supreme Court. It would help my case,” read the statement of the complainant.

Another police officer told the Daily, “She was also pressured not to tell anyone about her digital arrest, and under the pretext of helping her get out of trouble, the fraudsters took all the details related to her bank accounts and other investments."

The doctor subsequently withdrew Rs 48.28 lakh from her fixed deposit and transferred the funds to the bank accounts given by the scammers in 19 different transactions. After realising that she was scammed, the doctor registered a case of extortion, cheating, and cheating by impersonation on Tuesday against the scammer.

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