Parcel to Iran: Karnataka man loses Rs 30 lakh to cyber-scammer posing as Mumbai cop

Mangaluru: A man from the Surathkal police station limits has lost Rs 30 lakh to a cyber fraudster who falsely claimed to be the DIG of the Crime Branch Anti-Corruption Cell, Mumbai.

In a complaint, the victim stated that he received a call via Skype on September 2 from someone claiming to be the DIG. The caller, conversing in Hindi and English, alleged that a parcel sent by the victim to Iran contained drugs and other illegal items, which had been seized by the Anti-Corruption Cell. The caller further threatened that legal action would be taken against the victim. Additionally, the fraudster claimed that 24 fake accounts had been opened in the victim's name, through which 24 million dollars had been transferred illegally via hawala.

The caller pressured the victim by stating that the RBI would soon verify his bank account transactions and demanded that he transfer money to the account details provided by the caller before the RBI investigation took place.

When the victim asked for assurance regarding the safety of the funds, the fraudster convinced him that the money would be deposited into a department account. Trusting the caller, the victim transferred Rs 19 lakh through RTGS on September 2, followed by another Rs 11 lakh on September 3.

Later, when the caller asked him to transfer additional funds from his various accounts, the victim visited the ICICI bank branch at Marnamikatte. There, the bank manager informed him that it was a fraudulent call. Realizing that he had been scammed, the victim called the fraudster and demanded his money back. However, the caller claimed that the money was safe in their custody and would be returned after the RBI verified his ICICI and HDFC bank accounts. Subsequently, the fraudster’s phone was switched off. A case has been registered.