Retired teacher from Gandhinagar loses 99 lakh over 27 days

Ahmedabad: A 65-year-old retired teacher from Gandhinagar's Sector 8 lost Rs 99 lakh over 27 days after cyber fraudsters posing as telecom and CBI officers convinced her that she was linked to a money laundering case. On Saturday, she filed a complaint with Gandhinagar Police's cyber cell.According to police, the fraud began on Jan 16, when the woman received a call from a person claiming to be from the "telecom department". The caller alleged that a sim card bought using her identity was being used for illegal activities. The call was then transferred to another person who identified himself as a "CBI officer" and claimed that her bank account was linked to a money laundering case involving large transactions.
Over the next several days, she was contacted through WhatsApp and video calls by persons posing as senior CBI officials. She was told that arrest warrants and court orders had been issued in her name, and was sent forged documents bearing the names of agencies such as the Supreme Court of India and the Mumbai Crime Branch to make the claims appear genuine.Police said the woman was instructed to download the Signal app and told to transfer funds from her bank and post office accounts for "verification" to avoid arrest and freezing of her accounts. Between Feb 5 and Feb 13, she transferred Rs 99,00,047 through RTGS in four transactions to accounts in different banks including ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank, which the accused provided.When the money was not returned as promised, she realized she had been cheated. She contacted the cyber helpline on Feb 16, and later lodged a formal complaint.