Cyber criminals targeted a 62-year-old retired LIC officer from Pune's Kothrud jurisdiction. They extorted around ₹99 lakh by sending her a fabricated arrest warrant with a forged signature of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The incident took place in the last week of October.
According to the police, the victim received a random call from a man claiming to be a senior officer from a “Data Protection Agency.” Later, he threatened her, stating that her Aadhaar-linked mobile number had been used for illegal transactions.
For further details, he quickly connected her to another person named George Mathew. The fraudsters threatened her, alleging that her name was linked to a money laundering case, and sent her an arrest warrant bearing the fake signature of Nirmala Sitharaman with an official-looking stamp and seal.
The fraudsters told her that due to her age, she would be kept in front of the camera to be monitored closely. Later, she was instructed to transfer the amount for “verification.”
Accordingly, out of fear, she transferred ₹99 lakh from multiple accounts. However, the victim later realised she had been cheated. When she tried to contact the same number, the fraudsters had switched off their phones.
Regarding the matter, a case has been registered at Kothrud Police Station. Cyber police are investigating the case and have urged people not to panic if they receive such calls, to cross-check with the local police station, or to share the matter with family members.
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