HYDERABAD: Using the names of Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, cyber fraudsters allegedly kept a 73-year-old retired private employee under digital arrest for nearly 10 days and cheated her of `4 lakh.
According to the complaint, the fraudsters contacted the woman in the last week of September and claimed that they were officials of the Data Protection Board of India. The caller initially spoke to her in English, after which another person, identifying himself as Ravi, communicated with her in Telugu through WhatsApp video calls.
The fraudsters allegedly told her that she was involved in a money laundering case involving around `2.5 crore. They further claimed that she was associated with the Popular Front of India (PFI) and had received Rs 2.5 crore from the organisation. They also claimed that a criminal case had been registered against her at a police station in Nashik.
The callers instructed the woman to keep the doors and windows of her house closed and warned her against disclosing the matter to anyone, including her husband.
Later, the fraudsters directed her to transfer `4 lakh as a security deposit, claiming it was required for verification and investigation. They threatened to take her into custody if she failed to cooperate, allegedly claiming that the action was being taken under the instructions of finance minister and the police commissioner.