Bank guard duped out of 9L by fake ‘Mumbai cops’

Rajkot: A case of digital extortion was reported in Rajkot, where a 50-year-old security guard was duped into parting with nearly Rs 9 lakh by cybercriminals posing as Mumbai police officers.Prakash Chauhan, a resident of Gandhigram who works for a private bank, lodged a complaint at Cyber Crime police station against the holder of a certain WhatsApp number, two bank account holders and other unidentified persons involved in the fraud.According to the complaint, on Feb 1 Chauhan received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as "Sandeep" from Mumbai's Colaba Police Station and accused Chauhan of being involved in money laundering through his bank account and of having links with a criminal named ‘Naresh Gohil'.Chauhan was then added to a WhatsApp group named "Colaba Police Station" and subjected to regular video calls and updates related to the fabricated case. The fraudsters demanded photocopies of his Aadhaar card and allegedly threatened him with dire consequences if he were to disclose the matter to family, friends or the local police. They threatened to kill him and his mother and to ‘seal his house' if he told anyone anything.Chauhan was on Feb 4 asked to provide details of his savings. On learning that he held shares bought for about Rs 15 lakh in his demat account, the fraudsters told him to sell them immediately, causing him a loss of around Rs 6 lakh. From the proceeds, Chauhan was made to transfer Rs 8 lakh to bank accounts provided by the accused.The fraudsters allegedly continued monitoring his movements by making him keep his mobile call connected even while he was at work.On Feb 24, the accused allegedly demanded another Rs 5 lakh to "settle the case". Chauhan borrowed Rs 1 lakh from friends at interest and transferred it to the fraudsters.It was only after discussing the matter with a friend that Chauhan realized he had fallen victim to cyberfraud. He called the national cyber crime helpline, 1930, and filed a complaint.Cyber Crime police launched an investigation. The case has been registered under Sections 204, 308(5), 319(2) and 318(4) of the BNS, along with relevant sections of the IT Act.
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