Woman Cheated of Rs 5 Lakh by Cyber Fraudsters in Mumbai

Mumbai: A woman lawyer was cheated of Rs 5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as telecom department personnel and threatened to arrest her for money laundering, a police official said on Friday.

The accused also made her remove her clothes during a video call and then blackmailed her with screenshots, the official said.

"On Wednesday afternoon, the 36-year-old lawyer got a call from a person who introduced himself as an official of a telecom authority. He told her a SIM card registered in her name was being used to launder money. She was told to get a clean chit from Andheri police after which her phone number would be operational," he said.

"In the meantime, she was made to talk to another man who claimed he was head of the police's cyber cell. She was told to go to a hotel room in Powai and speak via video call. This man told her the woman accused in the racket had bullet injuries on her body. Using this trick, they made her take off clothes to check if she fit the description," the official added.

Amid this, the accused took her bank details and got her to transfer Rs 5 lakh online under duress, after she was allowed to leave the room, the official said.

"She was told not to discuss the matter with anyone as it was a confidential inquiry. Only after she spoke to her husband did she realise she had been cheated. Meanwhile, she got another call from the accused seeking money for not circulating her private photographs. She, however, refused and lodged a complaint on Thursday," the Powai police station official said.

A case was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act and efforts are on to nab the accused, he added.