Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Nov 22: A man in the city was scammed of Rs 1.7 crore by fraudsters posing as officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The elaborate scheme spanned several days and involved fake threats, fabricated documents, and phone calls from multiple impersonators.

The victim, who filed a complaint with the CEN police station, first received a call on November 11 from someone claiming to be a TRAI official. The scammer told him that a mobile number linked to his name was involved in illegal activities in Andheri East, Mumbai, and an FIR had been filed against him for harassment. He was warned that his mobile service would be deactivated within hours unless he acted immediately.

Shortly after, another call came from a man named Pradeep Sawant, who accused the victim of being involved in a money laundering case tied to the Naresh Goyal fraud. “Sawant claimed a fraudulent bank account had been opened in my name at Canara Bank, Andheri, and used for illegal activities,” the victim recalled. He was told he would be arrested unless he paid to "resolve" the case.

The scammers upped the ante with a WhatsApp video call from two individuals claiming to be Police Officer Rahul Kumar and CBI Officer Akanksha. They showed fake documents allegedly linking the victim to a CBI case and demanded money to clear his name. Fearing arrest, the victim transferred Rs 1.7 crore in multiple RTGS payments between November 13 and 19.

It wasn’t until after the payments were made that the victim realised he had been duped. He reported the fraud to the CEN police station, who have since launched an investigation into the matter. Authorities are tracing the transfers and warning the public to be vigilant of similar scams.