Don’t Fall for Fake Calls from ‘Officials’ – How a Retired Officer Lost ₹2.27 Crore
Ranchi (The Uttam Hindu): A group of cyber criminals executed an elaborate scam, conning a retired officer of a coal company in Ranchi out of ₹2.27 crore over 11 days. Posing as authorities, the criminals intimidated the victim with threats of arrest and severe legal action, coercing him to transfer the amount across eight different bank accounts. The victim, a retired officer from Coal India, lives in Ranchi's Bariatu area. He has filed an FIR with the CID Cyber Police Station, and the incident has also been reported to the Cyber Crime Helpline number 1930. Early investigations indicate that the gang responsible for the fraud is based in Maharashtra, with the bank accounts involved in the transaction also registered in the state.
According to the victim’s statement, on December 10, 2024, he received a call from someone identifying themselves as Abhiraj Shukla, who claimed to be an officer from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller accused the victim of sending fraudulent advertisements and messages from his phone number. When the victim denied any such activity, the caller explained that a cybercriminal might have used his documents to acquire a SIM card, which was then misused for illicit purposes. The victim was informed that his number had been implicated in a large-scale scam, potentially leading to charges of money laundering. He was then threatened with arrest.
The caller assured the victim that if he was innocent, the Delhi Cyber Crime Branch could assist in preventing arrest and legal proceedings. Shortly after, the victim received a call from a woman named Poonam Gupta, who claimed to be an officer from the Delhi Cyber Crime Branch. She instructed him to turn on his mobile camera and remain in front of it while she connected him with several individuals, one of whom claimed to be a senior IPS officer. The victim was repeatedly threatened and told to stay on the video call until the actual perpetrators were apprehended. This process continued for 11 days, during which the victim was coerced into transferring funds to various accounts, with the criminals asserting that these actions would prove his innocence in the alleged money laundering case.
Fearful for his safety, the victim complied, transferring ₹2.27 crore from both his and his wife’s bank accounts. It was only after realizing that he had been scammed that the victim attempted to contact the criminals. However, the phone numbers were blocked, and the funds were already gone. The CID has initiated a thorough investigation into the case, and efforts are underway to locate and apprehend the perpetrators behind this sophisticated cyber scam.
