HYDERABAD: An 80-year-old retired Reserve Bank of India (RBI) employee lost Rs 49 lakh in a digital arrest fraud after fraudsters posed as officers of the Mumbai crime police.
According to his complaint, on August 6, he received a call where the caller claimed that an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) case had been filed against him in the Mumbai High Court and that an arrest warrant had been issued. He was then connected to individuals identifying themselves as Inspector Sandeep Rao from the Mumbai Cyber Crime Department and Inspector Officer Vijay Khanna, IPS.
The accused asked him to share his Aadhaar card, after which they alleged his ID was linked to an international money laundering case. They cited the example of Naresh Goel, arrested in 2023 with 247 cases of money laundering, and claimed that his Aadhaar details were found in similar suspicious transactions.
The victim received two documents via WhatsApp — an acknowledgement letter from the Financial Department, Mumbai Crime Branch and CBI, and an arrest order on Directorate of Enforcement letterhead carrying his details. The accused told him his bank accounts needed to be verified and could be frozen.
Under pressure, he was coerced into transferring money to what was claimed to be an RBI AML Department account for verification. Following their instructions through internet banking, he ended up transferring a total of Rs 49 lakh.
Based on his complaint, a case has been registered.