NEW DELHI: A man was duped of Rs 25 lakh after scammers, posing as officials from law enforcement agencies, threatened him that his phone number was being used in illegal activities and that a case would be registered against him. The victim was confined to his home for three days, fearing arrest and legal repercussions.
The complainant, Vikas Bhardwaj, a resident of Qutub Vihar, told cops that he received a call from an individual claiming to be a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) officer. The caller threatened to block Bhardwaj’s phone number due to alleged misuse from another number registered under his name.
“He said people were getting pesky calls and messages from another mobile number registered in my name and there is a complaint against me. He asked me to get a clarification letter to stop the blocking of my phone number,” the complainant said.
Following this, Bhardwaj was connected to a supposed Andheri Police Station officer who further pressured him with fabricated FIRs against him for money fraud.
The scam escalated with a video call claiming to be from the “Mumbai Police Station,” where a person claiming to be the SHO threatened him with arrest and involvement in a national security case.
Fearful and isolated, Bhardwaj was then introduced to a fake CBI officer who demanded access to Bhardwaj’s financial details and coerced him into transferring Rs 25 lakh to a specific account, pretending to be conducting an investigation.
“He started his investigation, asking for all the details again. He sent me a series of documents like arrest warrants, asset seizure letter, money laundering documents, his ID cards, and asked me to read all the documents loudly to them as he said the call is getting recorded,” the complainant added.
After talking rudely for two hours, he started talking to him politely and said, if he has not done anything, then he assures the businessman that he will get an NOC.
“He said, there are two options, either to get arrested or to do a prioritised investigation, where I myself will declare all my assets for investigation. Since my family’s respect was at risk, I chose the latter one,” he said.
The complainant added the scammers maintained control by threatening consequences for breaching confidentiality, keeping the video call on for constant surveillance.
