Hyderabad: A 78-year-old man from Nizamabad was tricked by scammers pretending to be Mumbai Police officers. They falsely told him that his Aadhaar was linked to a bank account used for money laundering.
The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) reported that the scammers threatened the man’s wife, keeping them under a digital hold for nearly 50 hours, starting from 9 am on August 31 to 11.30 am on September 2. Shikha Goel, Director of TGCSB, explained that the scammers sent fake legal notices from the Supreme Court, CBI, TRAI, and RBI to appear legitimate. They convinced the man to transfer over Rs 30 lakh to their account, claiming it was for transaction verification. They also shared fake payment receipts from the RBI and Enforcement Directorate to deceive him.
The scammers even tried to make the man take a gold loan using his bank locker ornaments. Fortunately, a friend of the victim suspected something was wrong and alerted the authorities by calling 1930 and the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS) in Nizamabad. The police acted quickly, stopping the man from pledging his gold. Their swift response also ensured that Rs 20 lakh of the stolen money was frozen.
A case was filed at CCPS, Nizamabad, and an investigation began to catch the criminals.
Shikha Goel advised people that the police, CBI, RBI, ED, TRAI, or courts do not contact individuals via WhatsApp about bank accounts, Aadhaar, or money laundering. She warned against responding to video calls or messages from unknown numbers claiming to be government officials and advised against transferring money or sharing bank details with strangers. In case of suspicious messages or calls, she urged people to call 1930 or report at www.cybercrime.gov.in.
