Mumbai: 84-Year-Old Woman Loses Rs 46 Lakh to Scammer Posing as CBI Officer

In the series of fraud and scamming cases that has been increasing day by day one more case has come into light where an 84-year-old woman a retired pathologist has lost Rs. 46 lakhs to a man posing as a CBI officer, who told her that ED had started an investigation against her and an arrest warrant had been issued.

A fraudster scammed Albelu Iyer, an Andheri East resident, and her 80-year-old sister, Janaki, out of a significant amount of money by posing as CBI and ED officers. The scam began on December 20, 2024, when Iyer received a WhatsApp video call from someone claiming to be CBI officer Ajay Kumar. He falsely accused her of money laundering through a Canara Bank account opened in her name.

The next day, another scammer, posing as an ED official, convinced Iyer to cooperate by providing her HDFC and SBI account details. On December 30, she was coerced into transferring Rs 15 lakh from her SBI account to a Bank of Baroda account. On January 4, another Rs 15 lakh was transferred from her HDFC account to a Federal Bank account.

Shri Priyanshu Dewan, ACP, @cyberpoliceggm, warns that Greed, Fear & Negligence are the three traps cybercriminals use to deceive you. Stay alert! Verify unknown calls, messages & social media groups before responding. A little caution can safeguard you from cyber frauds. pic.twitter.com/XGA2W7n6ls

— CyberDost I4C (@Cyberdost) March 19, 2025

The scammer then targeted Janaki, obtaining her bank details and transferring the remaining funds from her account. On February 27, Iyer confided in her niece, who identified the scam. Iyer reported the incident to the Cyber Police, who filed an FIR on March 19 against an unidentified individual under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.