The Mumbai Cyber Crime Police have apprehended a 27-year-old man believed to be part of a syndicate involved in a digital arrest scam. A retired director from a private firm fell victim to this scam, losing Rs 90 lakh. Investigations revealed that a portion of the money extorted from the victim was deposited into the bank account of the arrested individual.
The suspect has been identified as Sohail Bashir Shaikh, who resides on JP Road in Andheri. Police sources indicate that the crime occurred between December 20 of last year and January 1. The victim, living on Nepean Sea Road, received calls and messages from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be Inspector Arun Kumar from the Delhi Cyber Crime department.
The caller informed the victim that his Aadhar card had been misused to create an unauthorized bank account, which was then implicated in money laundering, investment fraud, and identity theft. The scammer sent a fake CBI notice instructing the victim to transfer funds to a “Confidential Surveillance Account” for verification by the RBI regarding the legitimacy of his transactions.
The fraudster assured the victim that once the RBI completed its verification, the funds would be returned to his account within three to four hours. Over time, the scammer convinced the victim to transfer Rs 90 lakh to various beneficiary accounts. When the victim realized he had been deceived, he reported the incident to the cyber police, leading to the registration of a case.
On January 23, the South Cyber Crime police filed a case under several sections, including 61 (criminal conspiracy), 204 (impersonating a public servant), 308 (extortion), 318 (cheating), and 319 (cheating by impersonation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by impersonation using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.
“Investigation revealed that Rs 60 lakh that was extorted from the complainant was transferred to a Hyderabad based bank account and from that account, Rs 4.94 lakh was transferred in Shaikh’s bank account. The police team tracked him on Tuesday after which he was placed under arrest in the said case,” said a cyber police officer.
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