Mumbai: Senior Citizen Duped of Rs 1.25 Crore in Cyber Fraud by Scammers Posing as RBI, Hyderabad Police Officials

A 68-year-old woman from Goregaon fell victim to a ₹1.25 crore cyber fraud after being digitally "arrested" by scammers posing as officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Hyderabad Police. The fraudsters used the pretext of her alleged involvement in a ₹500-crore financial scam to intimidate her and extort money. Cyber police have launched an investigation into the matter.

The complainant, a retired banker living with her husband in Goregaon (West), received a phone call in November from a woman claiming to represent the RBI. The caller alleged that the victim had failed to pay her credit card dues, leading to a case being filed against her. She further threatened that all her bank accounts would be frozen. Despite the woman denying owning any credit card, the scammer redirected her call to a fake Hyderabad Police officer, "Akash Gulati."

The fake officer accused the victim of being involved in a ₹500-crore scam and claimed that ₹20 lakh from the scam was deposited into her account, which was linked to her Aadhaar card. To make the situation seem legitimate, the scammers asserted that the case was under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and digitally "arrested" her.

During this "arrest," the fraudsters manipulated her into staying isolated, instructing her not to inform anyone, including her husband. Another scammer, posing as a senior officer named "Akash Kulhari," contacted her via video call, showing fake documents with logos of the CBI, Supreme Court, and Telangana Government.

Fearing arrest and further repercussions, the victim transferred her entire savings, including provident fund, mutual funds, and fixed deposits, amounting to ₹1.18 crore, into bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. For a month, she remained silent about the ordeal.

Her suspicion was only aroused after reading a news report about similar digital arrests. Realizing she had been duped, she contacted the cyber helpline (1930) and filed a complaint.

The North Regional Cyber Police have registered a case and are tracing the accounts into which the money was transferred. Investigations are ongoing.