A startling cyber fraud case has been reported in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. An elderly victim was digitally entrapped to the tune of 12.6 million rupees. The police have arrested four individuals for their involvement in this elaborate scheme. Intriguingly, the fraudsters used the image of the Chief Justice of India to perpetrate the scam.
On October 10, the elderly victim approached the cyber crime cell to file a complaint. They recounted receiving a video call where they were accused of money laundering using their bank account. The fraudsters impersonated police, CBI officers, and even the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, claiming a 20 million rupee transaction from the account.
Method of Deception
In the complaint, the elderly person mentioned, "They threatened a five-year sentence for money laundering. Later, one impersonator suggested that since I am old and have no relatives, if I submit a written request, they would petition the Supreme Court Justice to prioritize my case and avoid arrest. However, they mentioned the investigation would occur via video call at my home."
Following this tactic, the fraudsters digitally confined the victim, constantly surveilling them. They extracted details of the bank accounts and fixed deposits, coercing the elderly to break these deposits and transfer funds for 'investigation.' Promises of reversing these transactions within 48 hours, backed by a fake certificate from the Supreme Court of India, seduced the victim. When the reimbursement didn't occur after 48 hours, a complaint was lodged, leading to the capture of four suspects by the cyber crime police.
Insights from the Police
Hardik Mankadia, ACP of Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Cell, stated, "Using an IPS officer’s identity, the fraudsters digitally arrested the elderly. They conducted video calls with the Chief Justice of India's photo set as their display picture." Mankadia added, "Upon investigating the victim's complaint, we traced which accounts received the money. Several accounts were linked to a second layer in Gujarat, with three being in Ahmedabad, each receiving one million rupees from the victim. Our investigation led to the arrest of four individuals."
The officer further highlighted that investigations revealed the elderly were contacted via WhatsApp calls from Cambodia. The culprits first gathered deposits into dummy accounts, then converted the funds into cryptocurrency at the second layer.
