HYDERABAD: A 68-year-old retired government school teacher from Madhapur lost Rs 24.97 lakh after falling victim to a digital arrest fraud, in which scammers convinced her that she was involved in criminal cases.
According to Cyberabad cybercrime police, the woman received a call on January 31 from an unidentified person claiming to be from the UIDAI. The caller told her that the Mumbai cybercrime department had registered a case against her in the ‘Mumbai’ High Court over alleged involvement in drug trafficking and that an arrest warrant had been issued.
The call was then diverted to multiple persons claiming to be officials, including persons identifying themselves as Mithlesh Das and Rafeequl Sardar, before finally connecting her to a man who introduced himself as Kuldeep Singh. Speaking in Telugu, he claimed to be a Mumbai cybercrime police officer who had earlier lived in Miyapur.
He asked her to share a photograph of her Aadhaar card and advised her to use only masked Aadhaar details. He also falsely told her that Rs 97,000 had been withdrawn from her State Bank of India account and that the money was being converted into black money by criminals.
Claiming that the funds had to be urgently converted into ‘white money’, the fraudsters induced her to transfer money to two bank accounts. She was instructed to maintain strict confidentiality and warned that disclosing the matter could result in at least six months’ imprisonment and a heavy fine. She was also assured that the amount would be refunded within 24 hours.
Believing them, she transferred Rs 24.94 lakh. When the money was not returned, she realised she had been cheated and approached the police. A case has been registered and investigation is underway.