A 55-year-old woman from Surat’s Adajan area allegedly lost ₹73 lakh after cyber criminals posing as officials from multiple law-enforcement and regulatory agencies kept her under a month-long “digital arrest” and forced her to transfer money, take gold loans and disclose details of her assets. Surat cybercrime police have registered an FIR and launched an investigation.
According to the complaint cited by Times of India, the woman received a call from an unknown number on September 30. The caller claimed to represent the Data Protection Board of India and told her that suspicious mobile numbers had been issued using her Aadhaar details. She was then connected to a man identified as Avinash Patel, who allegedly claimed that 20 mobile numbers had been obtained using her documents in Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Rajasthan and Nashik in Maharashtra.
Patel reportedly connected her to another man who introduced himself as Gajendra Rajput, an officer from Panchvati police station in Nashik. Rajput allegedly sent her a purported complaint from 20 people, threatened her with arrest and forwarded a fake letter bearing the Mumbai Police letterhead. The woman was told that she was linked to Popular Front of India terror funding, money laundering and hawala transactions.
The alleged fraudsters claimed that ₹2 crore had been routed through 247 bank accounts across the country and that ₹20 lakh had been credited to an account opened using her documents. They also sent her a photograph showing two people in police custody with a stack of ATM cards, including one card allegedly issued in her name.
The callers instructed the woman to remain available through WhatsApp calls and messages for 180 days to avoid arrest. During the alleged “investigation”, they obtained information about her bank accounts, fixed deposits, property, gold and other assets. The accused also learnt that her husband had died several years earlier and that her children lived abroad, according to the complaint. They allegedly used this information to ask about a locker containing documents, gold and cash.
The woman was persuaded to transfer money from her bank accounts and fixed deposits. She was also allegedly made to take gold loans of ₹29.34 lakh and ₹15.79 lakh from Fedbank Financial Services Ltd, known as Fedfina, and transfer the proceeds to accounts specified by the accused. The fraudsters reportedly sent letters and acknowledgements purportedly issued by the National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate, Reserve Bank of India and Supreme Court to strengthen the deception and maintain pressure.
After her funds were exhausted, the woman was allegedly asked to deposit a further ₹30 lakh under a purported “Security Deposit Committee Order” from the Supreme Court. She eventually realised that she had been cheated and contacted the cybercrime helpline 1930 on October 21. Surat cybercrime police registered the FIR on October 26, and the investigation is under way.
