Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
A 74-year-old man from Pune went through a harrowing ordeal of cyber blackmail over five days in which he was coerced to remain on a phone call and go to the bank multiple times to make large online transfers totalling Rs 97 lakh. Cyber fraudsters posing as police officers threatened to arrest him for ‘sending obscene messages’, ‘money laundering’ and in matter of ‘national security.’
An FIR in the case was registered by the 74-year-old Baner resident who is retired. In the third week of July, he received a call from a person who identified himself as an officer from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The caller told the complainant that his phone number would be blocked in two hours because obscene messages were being sent from his number to many people in Mumbai. The complainant urged the caller not to disconnect and was given a number to call.
The person, posing as a police officer, who answered this call told the complainant that his bank account was being misused for money laundering and an arrest warrant had been issued in his name. He was told to appear before Mumbai crime branch or he would be arrested from his home. The complainant pleaded that he was a senior citizen and he should be spared from arrest. He was told he would be helped by way of a ‘priority investigation’ and was directed to furnish all details of his bank accounts, deposits, investments etc.
Three days after the first call, a man who identified himself with the name of a serving IPS officer from Maharashtra, told the complainant that he would undergo a thorough verification. The complainant was warned against discussing the matter with anyone including family. He was told to transfer Rs 55 lakh from his savings. He was instructed to go to the bank while remaining on a call from the ‘officer’ for ‘surveillance purposes.’
Over the next two days, he was told his investigation was also being done in a matter of ‘national security’ and made to transfer Rs 20 lakh and Rs 22 lakh while remaining on the phone with the caller posing as a police officer. He was told that all the money would be transferred back to him after the verification process.
A while later, the complainant tried calling all the numbers he was getting calls from. But there was no response. After realising that he had been cheated, he approached the Cyber crime police station. A probe has been launched into the phone numbers and bank accounts used by the cyber fraudsters.
MHA advisory on cyber blackmail, ‘digital arrest’
In an advisory issued about such online blackmail cases, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in May, “A large number of complaints are being reported on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) regarding intimidation, blackmail, extortion and “digital arrests” by cyber criminals posing as police authorities,Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Department, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Enforcement Directorate and other law enforcement agencies.”
The advisory further read, “These fraudsters typically call a potential victim and inform that the victim has sent or is the intended recipient of a parcel, which contains illegal goods, drugs, fake passports or any other contraband item.
Sometimes, they also inform that a near or dear one of the victims has been found to be involved in a crime or an accident and is in their custody. A demand for money is made to compromise the “case”. In certain instances, unsuspecting victims are made to undergo “digital arrest” and remain visually available over call, Skype or other video conferencing platform to the fraudsters, till their demands are met.”
“The fraudsters are known to use studios modelled on police stations and government offices and wear uniforms to appear genuine. Across the country, several victims have lost large amounts of money to such criminals. This is an organised online economic crime and is learnt to be operated by cross-border crime syndicates.”
