BENGALURU: Cybercrooks extorted about Rs 83 lakh from an IISc professor recently, after threatening her that a parcel containing drugs and passports, purportedly sent by her, had been seized and she was facing arrest.
Prof Madhavi (name changed), 60, was also told she faced a case of money laundering and had to transfer money from her account for verification purposes.
According to the complaint filed by the professor with Sadashivanagar police, she received a call from an unknown number around 4pm on December 15. The caller claimed to be a FedEx staffer in Mumbai and informed her they had a parcel sent by her and it contained illegal valuables and had been seized by Mumbai Customs officials.
She was connected to another number over Internet call and the miscreant flashed a fake ID card in police uniform and showed her some letters with the letterhead of Mumbai police, Reserve Bank and others. The second miscreant informed her that there were cases against her under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. They instilled fear of arrest in her if she didn’t cooperate with their investigation.
The following day, they told her that her bank accounts and transactions needed to be verified by the RBI. Believing them, Madhavi followed their instructions. She transferred Rs 43 lakh to an account in the name of Sardar Khan and Rs 25 lakh to another account in the same person’s name, apart from Rs 15 lakh to other accounts. The miscreants disconnected the call, saying they would return the money after verification. Realising she had been cheated, she complained to the cybercrime helpline.
