KOCHI: An 81-year-old from Aluva ended up losing nearly `1.20 crore in an online fraud in which scammers allegedly threatened him with a forged Supreme Court notice and linked him to a human trafficking racket.
As per the complaint lodged with the Ernakulam Rural police, the fraudster identifying himself as ‘Ranjith’ and posing as a legal advisor with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India first contacted the victim on WhatsApp and told him that his mobile number was linked to a sexual abuse case registered at the Bengaluru Gandhi Nagar police station.
Soon, another scammer, ‘Sandeep Rao’, a ‘police officer’ from the same station, called him and assured him the case had been quashed, a move meant to win the victim’s trust.
However, he was then contacted by another person who identified himself as Daya Nayak, a CBI officer. Citing the reference of Sandeep, the scammer, in a video call, claimed a bank account was opened in the victim’s name at the Bombay branch of Canara Bank, and that `75 lakh was deposited as ‘commission’ by Sadaqath Khan, an accused in a human trafficking case.
He also saidthe Supreme Court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him, along with orders to freeze his accounts and attach his property. During the call, he displayed a letter bearing a forged SC seal, said an officer. When the victim panicked, the fraudsters offered to convert the matter into a ‘priority investigation case’ and secure a favourable outcome.
The man ended up transferring nearly `1.20 crore from his personal account, as well as joint accounts held with his wife and daughter, in eight transactions between November 1 and December 2, the officer said.