TOI
Ahmedabad : A 73-year-old retired professor who formerly taught at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and now lives at a senior citizen care centre in Ahmedabad allegedly lost Rs 16.2 lakh after cyberfraudsters posing as police and ATS officers subjected him to a prolonged “digital arrest” through WhatsApp video calls.
The fraud began on Aug 29 when the victim received a call from an unknown number, according to an FIR registered with the Cybercrime police on Saturday. The victim allegedly transferred Rs 11 lakh from his Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda accounts. The next day, he was asked to transfer another Rs 5.2 lakh to a Yes Bank account.
The victim, who had earlier lived in Banaras, told the caller that neither the mobile number nor the bank account belonged to him. The caller identified himself as an officer from the Banaras police headquarters and claimed that a mobile number linked to the professor’s Aadhaar had been used to open an ICICI Bank account through which crores of rupees in illegal transactions had allegedly been routed. The caller also accused him of involvement in child pornography and illegal gambling and claimed that a criminal case had been registered against him. He was allegedly informed that the matter would be investigated by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
The fraudsters threatened to arrest him but later offered to conduct the investigation through video calls because of his age, according to the complaint. The complainant alleged that he was kept under continuous WhatsApp surveillance and asked to share details and statements of his bank accounts, which he subsequently provided.
On Sept 1, the fraudsters allegedly told him that the money in his bank accounts had to be verified by the Reserve Bank of India as part of the investigation. On Sept 9, the fraudsters allegedly informed him that the investigation had been completed and shared a purported NIA no-objection certificate. He then informed his wife and son, contacted the cybercrime helpline 1930 and approached the Cybercrime branch with a complaint.
He was instructed to transfer funds to an ICICI Bank account belonging to a trader. The callers allegedly assured him that the money had been deposited with the RBI for verification and would be returned once the investigation was completed. They also sent him what they claimed was an RBI receipt through WhatsApp. The retired professor realised he had been duped only after the callers stopped responding.