HYDERABAD: A 79-year-old retired teacher from Asifnagar was duped of Rs 20 lakh by cyber fraudsters who kept her under “digital arrest” for nearly a month. The suspects threatened her with legal action, claiming she was involved in a money laundering case.
According to the Hyderabad cybercrime police, the victim received a phone call from a woman posing as a police officer, who alleged that her bank account was linked to a money laundering case involving Canara Bank.
Soon after, the woman received a video call from a man dressed in a police uniform who identified himself as Sunil Yadav from the Delhi Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
He showed her fabricated documents containing her Aadhaar number and a photograph of another person, claiming she was that person’s accomplice. The caller told her she would be arrested unless she cooperated with the investigation.
The fraudsters sent her two files labelled as court orders and a court petition, instructing her to keep her phone switched on at all times as she was “under digital surveillance”. They also warned her not to speak to anyone, saying the case was a “national secret”.
“They kept calling throughout the day, asking if I had informed anyone, including my son. The next day, they said I must attend a court trial,” the woman told the police.
When she explained that she was unable to walk, they offered to arrange a “video trial”. She was told to wear a white dress before appearing in front of a person posing as a judge, who informed her that the investigation would continue for four weeks.
The fake police officer then pressured her to deposit money into specific bank accounts “to prove her innocence”, assuring her that the money would be refunded later.
“Under pressure, I went alone to the bank on August 18 and deposited the money into two accounts as they instructed. I sent them the receipts on WhatsApp. They told me to relax and said the money would soon be returned,” she said in her complaint.
When there was no refund after three weeks, she contacted the callers, who claimed the case was still under investigation and demanded more money. She complied once again.
On October 16, after her calls went unanswered, she grew anxious. A relative, noticing her distress, learned about the situation and helped her realise she had been defrauded.
A cybercrime official said, “She had informed the callers that she could not walk, yet she went to the bank alone to make the deposits.” The woman later lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad cybercrime police, who registered a case and began a probe.
