Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, Jun 18: In a shocking case of cyber fraud, a 64-year-old woman from Mumbai was duped of Rs 22.4 lac by fraudsters posing as officers from Delhi's Anti-Terrorism Squad and Jammu & Kashmir Police. The scammers accused her of spying for Pakistan and extorted the money under the threat of legal action.

According to officials, this is the first known case in the city where espionage was used as a pretext to con a victim. The woman, a resident of Girgaon in South Mumbai, approached the South Region Cyber Police last week and filed a complaint.

The victim reported receiving three phone calls earlier this month from unidentified numbers. The caller introduced himself as "Prem Kumar Gupta", allegedly an ATS officer posted at the Jammu and Kashmir Border Police Station. He claimed that a case had been registered against her for leaking sensitive information to Pakistan.

To make the scam believable, the fraudster even shared a fake ID card photo and warned her of a possible 10-year jail term and a fine of Rs 50 lac. Terrified of arrest and further consequences, the woman transferred over Rs 22 lac across multiple bank accounts between June 5 and 10.

Once the money was paid, the calls stopped, and she realised she had been cheated. On June 13, she filed a formal complaint, following which a case was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. Investigations are ongoing to trace the accused.