Digital arrest
Pune: Fraudsters posing as govt officials and police officers scammed an elderly woman from Kothrud out of Rs 68 lakh by threatening to arrest her in connection with pornography and money-laundering cases. The woman emptied her life savings and investments and transferred Rs 68 lakh to six accounts using nine different UPI applications, according to the police. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Pune | Silver Rate in Pune | Bank Holidays in Pune | Public Holidays in Pune | Petrol Price in Pune | Diesel Price in Pune | CNG Price in Pune | LPG Price in Pune Stay updated with the latest Pune news.
The cyber police said the fraud occurred between March and the first week of Oct. The complainant lives by herself — her children live abroad, police said. The suspects told her she would have to obtain a police clearance certificate and that a Mumbai crime branch officer would contact her.
“The woman had submitted a complaint application. They shared details of multiple bank accounts. Download the TOI App.
After verifying it, we registered a case on Monday,” inspector Sangeeta Deokate said.
“Within a few minutes, a ‘Mumbai crime branch officer’ video-called her and asked her for details of her assets — she answered his questions,” Deokate said. The man immediately told her one of her bank accounts was used to launder money for a banned terrorist outfit in Kerala. “The suspect then claimed that she had received Rs 20 lakh as commission for uploading and sending obscene videos online and used that money to fund terrorist activities,” she said.
Deokate said the suspects first contacted the woman on the phone and accused her of regularly uploading “obscene photographs and videos” to the internet. They said the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI) was investigating the case. “She strongly denied the allegations and insisted that she had not uploaded any such content,” the inspector said. The fraudsters then threatened to arrest her in connection with the case and sent her what they claimed was a digital arrest warrant, according to the FIR. “The suspects immediately reassured the now-panicking complainant that they would help her in exchange for payment,” Deokate added.
It must be noted here that DPBI is purely an adjudicative body and has no investigative authority.