HYDERABAD: A 73-year-old retired sessions judge from Neredmet lost Rs 1.66 crore to fraudsters who kept him under digital arrest for nearly 10 days.
According to police, the victim received a call on February 23 from a person identifying himself as a senior CBI officer named Deepak Kumar. The caller falsely alleged that the victim had been using two mobile numbers to make inappropriate calls to women and claimed that an FIR had been registered against him at Indiranagar police station in Bengaluru.
The caller further told him that his Aadhaar card had been misused to obtain another mobile number. Soon after, another person joined the call, claiming to be circle inspector Gourav Saradhi and alleging that the victim was involved in a human trafficking case and that a non-bailable warrant had been issued by the Supreme Court.
Later, a woman identifying herself as Archana Ramasundaram, claiming to be a senior CBI officer, contacted him and showed a Supreme Court emblem, alleging that he was linked to human trafficking due to misuse of his Aadhaar.
The fraudsters asked him to join WhatsApp video calls, showed a purported Supreme Court letter accusing him of money laundering, human trafficking and identity theft, and coerced him into sharing bank details for a ‘financial assessment’.
They later made him transfer Rs 1,66,00,000 to multiple accounts for ‘verification’. Realising he had been cheated, he lodged a complaint with Malkajgiri Cybercrime police. A case has been registered and further investigation is on.