Mumbai: A 44-year-old garment businessman from Santacruz was duped of Rs7.77 lakh by a con posing first as a courier and then as a police officer threatening him with legal action over drug involvement. The businessman, Tanveer Bhatia, filed a case against the unidentified fraudster on April 26th.
How The Situation Unfolded
On April 25th, the fraudster posed as an employee of a courier company and called Bhatia. He told him that a parcel containing drugs, passports, credit cards, a laptop, and clothes had been sent to Thailand under Bhatia's name. The fraudster then transferred the call to someone claiming to be Rakesh Kumar, a Sub-Inspector from the Andheri Cyber Crime branch.
The fraudster accused him of illegal transactions and demanded his Aadhaar card number. When Bhatia suggested visiting the cybercrime office to verify, he was threatened with arrest. The fraudster coerced Bhatia into coming to Skype to verify, where he used a logo of the Mumbai police to gain his trust.
Under the pretense of arrest, the accused prevented him from contacting anyone, claiming that his mobile and laptop were under surveillance. Moreover, the con threatened, saying that the police were near his residence, ready to arrest him at any moment.
To further reinforce his guise, the fraudster presented a letter from the Central Bureau of Investigation. The fraudster then coerced Bhatia into transferring Rs7.77 lakhs to him, promising that the amount would be returned after an investigation. After returning home, he disclosed the incident to his father who told him he had been scammed. He then approached the Santacruz police who filed a case under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (cheating and dishonesty) and the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.
