Cyber thugs trapped doctor on skype call, broke even FD
New Delhi. A sensational case of cheating of Rs 4 crore 47 lakh from a 34-year-old female doctor through Skype call has come to the fore. The doctor even got his FD broken. Dr. Poonam told the police- On May 5, at 10:39 am, a call was received on the mobile from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as an employee of Fed Ex (courier company). He said – My parcel has been seized. I press 1 for details. I was told that the packet contained a passport, banking documents, two pairs of shoes, 140 grams of MDMA drugs and clothes.
The callers claimed that the parcel was to go from Mumbai to Taiwan. It was booked on 21 Apr 2023. 25 thousand 25 plus GST was paid through ICICI credit card. When the doctor said that he did not know about any courier. The caller asked her to lodge a complaint at the Andheri police station. Then the call was transferred to an Inspector Smita Patil. Inspector Patil advised to lodge complaint online and download Skype app.
The victim said that she received a Skype call from a profile named Mumbai Andheri East Cybercrime. Lady Inspector Smita Patil joined me on new Skype ID. Then I was asked to record the statement on this ID. Putting me on hold, he spoke to someone else and tried to confirm that my Aadhaar ID has not been misused.
The doctor overhears him saying on the call that his ID has been used to open 23 bank accounts in Mumbai. Money laundering is suspected. Then the woman posing as the inspector said that many crimes would be investigated against the doctor and he would have to be arrested. Told the doctor to give a screenshot of the balance in all the bank accounts. Tell the information of each rupee. The doctor panicked at what the callers said. The thugs present on the call advised to break the FD for seizure and verification. The doctor broke the FD of 1.15 crores and was then asked to go to the branch located at Gopinath Bazar for the rest.
The victim was told not to involve anyone, not even her husband, as he too would be considered an accomplice in the crime. The doctor was asked to fill the RTGS form. The contract was called from a new Skype ID named Maharashtra Narcotics Division. An officer who described himself as an officer of the Reserve Bank of India also joined.
The doctor was told that the money deposited in his account is of crime and should be transferred to the RBI account. The amount will be refunded after verification. A complaint was sent to the doctor on the letterhead of the Mumbai Police. A letter from RBI also came along with it. The woman was then asked to share the screenshot of a transaction of Rs 1 crore. After that another transfer of Rs 90 lakh took place. The lady doctor was forced to take her husband’s signature. Then broke the joint FD and got that amount transferred as well. When a total of Rs 4.73 crore was transferred, the woman was told to wait for the RBI clearance report. The thugs also told the doctor that they would generate his new Aadhaar ID as the previous one has been blocked. He was asked to delete all Skype conversations. The doctor was sure that his money didn’t come from drugs but he waited. Till May 9 no one replied. Finally, two clearance certificates were sent to the woman. It was written in these that his accounts are fine and no illegal transactions were caught from them. The police are yet to trace the Skype call. A case has been registered on the complaint of the woman
