A retired Income Tax officer has been duped of Rs 51 lakh by fraudsters who posed as police officers from Lucknow and placed him under ‘digital arrest’ in a “money laundering” case, leading to the arrest of a mule account operator, Mumbai Police said on Wednesday.
The arrested man, identified as Mohammed Safwan Abdul Hameed, has provided bank accounts to cyber fraudsters to facilitate transactions. His interrogation exposed names of several other suspects, and police teams are currently searching for them, an official said.
The retired I-T department officer received a video call from an unidentified person who introduced himself as a senior officer from the Lucknow Police.
The caller allegedly told the retired officer that a bank account had been opened in a private bank using his documents and that transactions involving lakhs of rupees linked to money laundering had taken place through the account, according to the FIR.
“The victim told the caller that he had never visited Lucknow and didn’t have any bank account there. However, the caller claimed that the account had been opened using documents bearing his name. The victim was subsequently contacted through video calls by two other men who introduced themselves as a police inspector and the Director General of Police,” the official said.
They told the complainant that a case had been registered against him and that he would face at least 10 years in prison.
“The fraudsters further claimed that he would have to remain available on video calls for questioning until the investigation was completed and that he had been placed under ‘house arrest’. The accused allegedly warned him not to discuss the matter with anyone or contact anyone else, threatening that police would be sent to his residence and he would be arrested if he didn’t listen to them,” the official said.
Fearing arrest, the retired I-T officer followed their instructions.
“The fraudsters allegedly sent him fake government documents and sought details of his bank accounts.
A retired Income Tax officer has been duped of Rs 51 lakh by fraudsters who posed as police officers from Lucknow and placed him under ‘digital arrest’ in a “money laundering” case, leading to the arrest of a mule account operator, Mumbai Police said on Wednesday.
The arrested man, identified as Mohammed Safwan Abdul Hameed, has provided bank accounts to cyber fraudsters to facilitate transactions. His interrogation exposed names of several other suspects, and police teams are currently searching for them, an official said.
The retired I-T department officer received a video call from an unidentified person who introduced himself as a senior officer from the Lucknow Police.
The caller allegedly told the retired officer that a bank account had been opened in a private bank using his documents and that transactions involving lakhs of rupees linked to money laundering had taken place through the account, according to the FIR.
“The victim told the caller that he had never visited Lucknow and didn’t have any bank account there. However, the caller claimed that the account had been opened using documents bearing his name. The victim was subsequently contacted through video calls by two other men who introduced themselves as a police inspector and the Director General of Police,” the official said.
They told the complainant that a case had been registered against him and that he would face at least 10 years in prison.
“The fraudsters further claimed that he would have to remain available on video calls for questioning until the investigation was completed and that he had been placed under ‘house arrest’. The accused allegedly warned him not to discuss the matter with anyone or contact anyone else, threatening that police would be sent to his residence and he would be arrested if he didn’t listen to them,” the official said.
Fearing arrest, the retired I-T officer followed their instructions.
“The fraudsters allegedly sent him fake government documents and sought details of his bank accounts.
