Powai man loses Rs 4L in cyber fraud

Mumbai: A 41-year-old Powai resident became a victim of cyber fraud, losing Rs 4.08 lakh. The incident began when a fraudster, claiming to be a police officer from Chembur police station, contacted him. The scammer threatened arrest, alleging that a bank account in the victim's name was involved in suspicious transactions. Powai police reported that the perpetrator conducted a video call, demanding to view the victim's Aadhaar card, claiming identity misuse. The victim was deceived into making 11 separate payments for supposed verification before discovering had been deceived.
The incident took place on Oct 29, beginning at 10 am when the victim received a call from someone claiming to represent a nationalised bank's credit card division, warning about unauthorised transactions of Rs1 lakh. "The victim said that he did not have any credit card. The tele-caller informed that they will forward the complaint to the Chembur police to look into the matter. We have sought details from the bank to find the money trails to which the victim was asked to transfer funds," said a Powai police officer.
At 10.34 am on the same day, another call came through, with the caller identifying himself as a Chembur police station representative. The victim's complaint stated: "The caller made video call but his face was blur. The person asked to show my Aadhaar card and informed that the same details have been used to open a bank account and used it to deposit and transfer black money. The person threatened of a possible arrest."
A police officer confirmed that the victim transferred funds several times for supposed verification procedures before realising he had been swindled.