Hyderabad, May 17, 2024 – A 54-year-old private employee from Hyderabad became the latest victim of a sophisticated scam involving fraudsters posing as law enforcement officers. The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, received a call from an individual claiming to be a TRAI officer, informing him of an arrest warrant issued by the Lucknow police station. The caller threatened that the victim’s mobile SIM would be deactivated within two hours.
In a subsequent video call, the victim connected with a person dressed as a sub-inspector from Alamgarh Police Station. The fraudster claimed that a SIM card had been purchased using the victim’s AADHAR card, and that bank accounts under the victim’s name at HDFC, ICICI, and SBI banks had been used for money laundering worth crores. The scammer pressured the victim to travel to Lucknow immediately, threatening 90 days of interrogation if he failed to comply.
The fraudsters demanded personal, family, and job details from the victim. They then sent a fake arrest warrant via WhatsApp, allegedly issued by the Directorate of Enforcement and stamped by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Lucknow. The scammers demanded Rs. 5,26,546, claiming it was for surveillance by the enforcement department and IT account. The victim, unfortunately, transferred the money and received a notarized receipt for the amount.
Authorities have issued a public advisory urging individuals to hang up immediately if they receive suspicious calls and report the incident to the nearest police station without engaging further. The public is also warned against FedEx/Courier frauds and reminded that law enforcement officials do not contact individuals via Skype or demand money transfers to resolve issues.
Victims of cyber financial fraud are advised to report the crime immediately by dialing the Cyber Crime Helpline number 1930 or visiting cybercrime.gov.in.
