Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, May 4: A conman, posing as a CBI officer, swindled more than Rs 15 lac from a contractor under the pretext of filing a CBI case against him.

The contractor, a resident of Kottara, received a call on his mobile on April 25 from a stranger who claimed that threatening calls were being made from the victim's mobile and rumours of financial dealings were circulating. The caller threatened to suspend the victim's mobile number and claimed that a case had been filed in the Mumbai CBI office. The call was then transferred to another individual, purportedly a senior CBI officer.

The impostor posing as the senior CBI officer informed the victim that his bank account would be confiscated due to misappropriation of funds. He instructed the victim to transfer the money to another account and to download Skype for further communication. Subsequently, the victim received a notice purportedly from the CBI officer, stating that the victim's name could be cleared from the case if he cooperated and followed instructions. Initially, the contractor transferred Rs 2.99 lac to clear his name from the case. Later, the online fraudsters provided various account details and demanded further payments from the victim. Consequently, the victim contractor transferred Rs 1,501,049. However, the victim grew suspicious of the callers and lodged a complaint with the cyber police on May 3.