Rs 80 Lakh Lost; With Fake Letters From ED & RBI, Fraudsters Scam Mumbai Woman

A 63-year-old woman residing in Navi Mumbai reportedly fell victim to a scam where fraudsters, posing as representatives of a prominent international courier company and government authorities, swindled her of Rs 80 lakh. They allured her with false promises of protection from legal repercussions in a supposed smuggling case.

The victim is retired from a power company and resides at Vashi in Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai township.

Also Read: Rs 80 Lakh Saved, Fraudsters Foiled; How Lawyer’s Suspicion Busted Big Financial Scam In Mumbai

Modus operandi of the scam

On March 29,  the victim received a phone call from a person claiming to be from an international courier service. The caller informed her of a parcel received by them under her name containing smuggled goods and said they had filed a complaint against her with the cyber crime police, news agency PTI reported quoting an official from the cyber police station.

Fake letters from ED, RBI

The victim later received fake letters in the name of the Reserve Bank of India, the Enforcement Directorate and the Finance Ministry through a Skype account and the communications threatened her with arrest, the official said.

Under the guise of offering her assistance to save her from legal action and for property verification, the woman was coerced into transferring Rs 80 lakh into various bank accounts.

The woman later realised she was cheated.

Based on her complaint filed on Tuesday evening, the police registered an FIR against unidentified persons under Indian Penal Code sections 420 (cheating), 465, 468, 471 (forgery), 170 (personating a public servant), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) and provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said.

Recently, in a similar incident, fraudsters, pretending to be from a renowned logistics company and law enforcement, attempted to swindle a Mumbai-based female lawyer out of Rs 80 lakh. However, her vigilance prevented any financial loss.

The fraudsters contacted the 30-year-old lawyer informing her that the package she attempted to send to Iran contained synthetic drug LSD.

(With PTI inputs)