Mumbai, March 17: A 71-year-old retired marketing professional from Dadar has allegedly been duped of over Rs 1.05 crore in a “digital arrest” cyber fraud by scammers posing as officials from the Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India and the Central Bureau of Investigation.
Fraud begins with impersonation call
According to the FIR, a 71-year-old, a former Marketing Head at KLJ Polymers & Chemicals, received a call on March 4 from an unknown number.
The caller claimed to be from TRAI’s Delhi head office and alleged that a mobile number had been issued using Parelkar’s Aadhaar details and was being used for illegal advertising and harassment messages.
When Parelkar denied any connection, the caller told him that a case (MH8819/0226) had been registered against him at a “CBI office in BKC” and that his mobile number would be disconnected unless he obtained a “clarification certificate” within two hours.
As he expressed inability to visit in person, the caller offered to assist him with an online process and transferred the call to another person posing as a CBI officer.
Multiple impersonators and fake documents used
Over the next few days, Parelkar was contacted by multiple individuals identifying themselves as “CBI officers”, including Arun Trivedi, Sachin Yadav, and Ajay Gupta, who falsely accused him of links to a multi-crore money laundering case involving a person named Naresh Goyal. The fraudsters claimed that Rs 2 crore had been withdrawn using his bank details and that he had allegedly sold his bank account.
To gain his trust, the accused sent him fake documents, including a “Freezing Fund Control Order”, “Arrest Order”, and purported court orders bearing the name of a judge. They also instructed him to download the Signal app and report his status every two hours on a so-called “surveillance portal”.
Victim coerced into transferring funds
Police said the fraud escalated when another caller, posing as a “CBI Director”, demanded details of his bank accounts, investments, and mutual funds, and later asked him to transfer money for “fund verification”.
Between March 6 and March 12, the complainant transferred a total of Rs 1.05 crore from his accounts and transferred it to multiple beneficiary accounts across different banks through RTGS transactions.
Fraud uncovered, police begin investigation
The fraud came to light on March 15 when his son checked his phone and realised that he had been targeted in a “digital arrest” scam. The victim immediately contacted the cyber helpline 1930 and lodged a complaint.
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Based on the complaint, an FIR has been registered against unknown persons at the Central Region Cyber Police Station. Police are investigating the bank accounts used in the fraud and attempting to trace the accused.
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