IIT Jodhpur Prof Duped Of Rs 11.97 Lakh By Fake Mumbai Cops In 'Digital Arrest' For 10 Days

A woman in Jodhpur's Karvad area fell victim to an online fraud where cyber fraudsters posing as Mumbai Police officers kept her under 'digital arrest' for 10 days in connection to a fake money laundering case. The victim, an assistant professor of IIT Jodhpur, lost Rs 11.97 lakh.

Jodhpur: An IIT Jodhpur professor was duped of Rs 11.97 lakh in a fake money laundering case after being held under 'digital arrest' for 10 days by cyber fraudsters posing as Mumbai crime branch officers. Based on her complaint, Karvad police station has registered a case against her.

The woman told police that she got several calls from different numbers on August 1, where the caller claimed that a packet in her name, carrying drugs had been intercepted in Mumbai. The callers told the victim to cooperate in the investigations or else she would be arrested.

The victim, an assistant professor of IIT Jodhpur was told that she is a suspect in a money laundering case and asked her to report to the Mumbai Crime Branch. After this, the call was transferred to an officer of the crime branch, who told her that she would be kept under surveillance.

The fraudster posing as Mumbai crime branch officer asked her to keep her mobile camera on and share her screen. Then, she was made to join a video call through Skype from her laptop. Now, another fraudster entered the scene posing as DCP and threatened her of arrest.

After which, the victim was held under 'digital arrest' for 10 days during which verifications of her accounts were done. An effort was made to transfer funds from all her accounts to one place but since this could not be done through net banking, a new cheque book was issued to her.

On August 12, the cyber fraudsters got her to transfer Rs 11,97,000 to an Yes Bank account through RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) system as part of the verification process. However, as soon as the money was transferred the communication got snapped. The victim later realised that she had fallen prey to online fraud and lodged a police complaint.

Karvad police station officer Mahendra Kumar said a case has been registered on the complaint of the professor and investigation is underway. The Jodhpur Cyber ​​Police Station has also been roped in, he said.

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