Navi Mumbai College Professor Cheated Of Rs 1.8 Crore By Cyber Fraudsters Posing As IT Officials

She was threatened with arrest by the scammers posing as Income Tax officials and was told a Delhi-based company was registered in her name and that she owed Rs 8 lakh taxes.

A 58-year-old medical professor at a Navi Mumbai college was duped of Rs 1.8 crore by cyber fraudsters posing as Income Tax officials, who approached her claiming she owed Rs 8 lakh in taxes. She was threatened with arrest by the scammers and asked to pay Rs 1.8 crore, which they promised to return once the "investigation" concludes.

As per the First Information Report, the incident took place last month when the woman received a call around 3:00 PM on January 14 from a person who claimed to be from the Income Tax department. The caller told her that her taxes were due to be paid and that this was the final warning call, a report by the Indian Express said.

She was further informed by the man that a Delhi-based company had been registered in her name and she owed Rs 8 lakh taxes. She told the man that she was unaware of the said company and that some stranger must have used her details without her knowledge.

Following this, the person transferred the call to an 'officer' from the Delhi Police who sent her 'CBI documents' that looked legitimate. The next day the 'Delhi police officer' made a video call to the woman, asking her to provide all her financial documents "for verification by the RBI", the report said.

The professor submitted the details of her investments, including fixed deposits and shares after believing the promise that her documents would be returned after the "verification" process.

However, she ended up transferring Rs 1,81,72,667 to the cyber fraudster's account. But, the scammers did not stop there and demanded Rs 22 lakh from the woman. She then told them that her savings had exhausted.

It was only when she told about it to a relative that she realised she was duped. 

The Navi Mumbai Cyber police station on Monday registered a case based on her statement. An officer said that they are investigating the matter but are yet to make any arrests, Indian Express reported.