Crooks pose as CBI sleuths, dupe 60-year old of Rs 1.75 crore

The fraud continued for a period of two months. Representation pic

In yet another case of cyber fraud involving the misuse of central agency names, a 60-year-old retired consultant from Bandra lost R1.75 crore in a two-month-long cyber scam.

According to the victim, a woman, she was duped by the accused posing as officials from DHL Courier, Delhi Cyber Crime, the CBI, and a finance department. A case has been filed with the Mumbai cyber cell based on the woman's complaint.

According to the complainant, the fraud began on October 14, 2024. The victim said that she received a call from a woman who identified herself as Ritu Sharma, claiming to be a representative of DHL Courier in Delhi and claimed that a parcel in her name, sent to Bangkok, contained passports, credit cards, clothes, a laptop and 140 grams of MDMA.

"As I denied sending any parcel, my call was transferred to individuals claiming to be officials from Delhi Crime Branch and the CBI. These individuals, including someone who identified himself as Inspector Pradeep Sawant and a CBI officer who identified as Sadhan Pawar, accused me of money laundering, child trafficking, and drug smuggling. They threatened me with arrest and pressured her to cooperate," said the victim in her statement to the cyber cell.

The woman further said that the fraudsters sent fake documents with letterheads from the RBI, the CBI, and the Delhi Crime Branch and instructed her to transfer 90 per cent of the money from her accounts to an RBI account for verification. Believing them, she transferred R1.75 crore through RTGS in several transactions over the period of two months to bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.

"Despite repeated promises to return my money, the fraudsters kept asking for more, claiming they were for processing fees or guarantees. When I grew suspicious of the delays and evasive responses, I realised that I had been scammed and reported the matter to the police," said the victim.

Police said all accused persons identified by the victim, including Sharma (DHL Courier), Sawant, Pawar, and another person identified as Akash Verma, have been named in the FIR. The victim also provided the cyber cell with phone numbers, WhatsApp chats, Skype IDs, and bank account details used in the fraud.

"We have registered a case under charges of cheating, impersonation, and criminal intimidation. Investigations are ongoing to trace the culprits and recover the funds," a cyber cell officer said.