1 week Ago
Times News Network Ludhiana: Cyber fraudsters duped an elderly city resident of over Rs 1 crore by threatening him about a case that was never registered against him. The accused posed as officials of Delhi Police , Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. They then sent forged documents, including arrest warrants and court orders to freeze bank accounts besides a forged CBI letter about a fake case.
The complainant, Rajneesh Ahuja, 78, owner of an auto parts factory in Focal Point, told the police that on September 19 that at 8.42am, he received a call from an unknown number. He said that the caller introduced himself as Abhishek Bansal from the Delhi airport, who was investigating the case of a package sent to Malaysia.
Bansal accused Ahuja of sending the package to a person named Wangzhang of Malaysia through Global International Courier Company and said that it contained 16 passports and 58 debit cards. When Ahuja denied having sent any such package, Bansal said that his ID may have been misused to send the parcel. Thereafter, Bansal told him that he would transfer the case to the Delhi Police and that he could expect a call from a Delhi Police official soon.
The victim said that by around 9am, he received a call from another number and the caller introduced himself as Sunil Kumar from Delhi Police. The caller told him that Delhi Police arrested a person named Sanjay Singh, a retired bank officer, who contacted youths on the pretext of sending them abroad but confining them to take ransom from their families instead. The caller claimed that Sanjay Singh had collected Rs 38 crore through extortion and that money had been deposited in Ahuja's bank account.
The caller also claimed that Sanjay confessed to have been paying Ahuja 10% commission for bank transactions of the extorted money. Ahuja denied knowing Sanjay Kumar but again, the caller said that his ID may have been misused to open a bank account in his name for use in extortion cases. The fake Delhi Police official asked Ahuja to join the police probe.
He also sent fake documents including arrest warrant, a fake court order to get his bank accounts frozen and a fake CBI document related to the case. The accused threatened Ahuja and asked him to deposit Rs 86 lakh security to avoid arrest. He said that they would return the money after three hours, till all the claims were verified.
He also asked Ahuja not to switch his mobile phone off. The victim transferred the money into the bank account provided by the accused. Minutes later, he called Ahuja again and asked for Rs 15 lakh more, which he again transferred.
By 6pm, Ahuja received a WhatsApp call from another number and the caller introduced himself as Anil Kumar of CBI. He said that he had been found innocent after investigations and his arrest warrants would be cancelled from court. He added that Ahuja’s name would be excluded from the FIR and his money transferred back into his bank account by noon on September 20.
However, Ahuja did not get his money back and none of the persons who had called him were available. Thereafter, the victim lodged a police complaint. Inspector Jatinder Singh, SHO, cyber crime police station said that they have filed a case and asked the respective banks to freeze accounts into which the money was transferred.
He added that many such cases have been reported from the city. He advised residents to take precautions against cyber cons..
