Pune Student and Mother Lose ₹53.63 Lakh to Fraudsters Posing in Drugs-in-Courier Scam
A distressing incident has come to light where a 25-year-old PhD student and her mother from Pune have fallen victim to an online fraud scheme orchestrated by impostors posing as police officials.
In a harrowing turn of events, the fraudsters exploited their fears by threatening legal consequences over a purported parcel containing illicit drugs. As part of the ruse, they coerced the victims into making money transfers to evade prosecution. The fraudulent callers even alleged the presence of narcotics within the student’s courier, according to authorities who disclosed the details on Wednesday. The unfortunate incident unfolded in the Deccan area.
The elaborate scam unfolded on July 5 when the student received a call from an individual claiming that her parcel contained contraband substances, leading to potential legal repercussions. Swiftly, the perpetrators organized a Skype call, introducing the student to a supposed officer from the Mumbai police department. This faux-officer intensified the psychological manipulation, asserting that a criminal case involving banned drugs, money laundering, and illicit foreign transactions had been filed against her at his station.
Further heightening the distress, the fraudulent culprits alleged the discovery of unauthorized foreign monetary transactions within the victim’s bank account. Under the guise of verification, they pressured the student to transfer a staggering ₹53.63 lakh from her account to another. Fearing the escalating legal implications, the victim reluctantly complied and completed the illicit transaction.
The sequence of events unfolded with alarming speed, with the initial call occurring at 9 am, followed by the money transfer around 2:30 pm on the same day. While the victim’s mother was also engaged in the call, the financial transactions were facilitated exclusively through the victim’s bank account.
In the course of their preliminary investigation, Officials discovered that the implicated bank account was operated from Rajasthan. Authorities are actively pursuing further details pertaining to the transactions associated with this particular account.
Prompted by these distressing circumstances, an FIR was lodged at the cyber police station on August 8. The filed complaint invokes relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 419 (punishment for cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 170 (impersonating a public servant), and sections 66 C and 66 D of the Information Technology Act, which pertain to fraudulent online activity.
