Latest news with #NareshGoyal
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Time of India
Mumbai senior citizen doctor kept under ‘digital detention' for 8 days by cyber fraudsters, loses Rs 3 crore
Mumbai: In a fresh digital detention fraud case, a 70-year-old practising doctor from the western suburbs was cheated of Rs 3 crore by cyber frauds who claimed that her bank account was used in the multi-crore money laundering case related to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. The fake police officers kept her under 'digital detention' for eight days. One of the calls from a 'crime branch officer' lasted for 14 hours, said cyber police. In her complaint, the doctor said that on May 28, she received a call from one Amit Kumar, who claimed to be from the telecom department. He told her that someone had taken a new SIM using her Aadhaar card and an FIR was registered against the SIM card holder. Later, she received a WhatsApp message from the 'Cyber Crime Department Mumbai' asking about her personal details. She messaged her name and address to this number. She then received a WhatsApp call from the same number, and the caller introduced himself as IPS officer Samadhan Pawar from the Mumbai crime branch. He alleged that during searches at Goyal's residence they had found a bank account and debit card in her name. She denied her involvement, but Pawar threatened her, saying even if Re 1 was sent to her account from proceeds of crime, she would be jailed for three years. After she provided details of her bank accounts and the money in them, Pawar sent her fake documents purportedly from the Bombay high court, Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, and Reserve Bank of India with her name on them. Some documents even had forged letterheads of these departments. You Can Also Check: Mumbai AQI | Weather in Mumbai | Bank Holidays in Mumbai | Public Holidays in Mumbai Later, a man in police uniform, who identified himself as Tyagi, spoke to her and her husband during the video call. He told the doctor that he was putting her under surveillance and she would have to report to them every hour. Pawar kept threatening to arrest her and told her to transfer her money into separate accounts for 'scrutiny' with the assurance that it would be returned. Scared, she followed the instructions and transferred nearly Rs 3 crore. Later, her husband mentioned the incident to a relative, who told him that it was a fraud. This is when she lodged a complaint at West Region Cyber police station on June 5. A team led by senior police inspector Suvarna Shinde is probing the case.
Hindustan Times
21-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Housewife mortgages 30 tola gold to pay ₹30 L in digital arrest fraud
MUMBAI: A 61-year-old Worli-based housewife was duped of ₹ 30 lakh by frauds who posed as government and police officials and placed her under digital arrest, claiming her mobile and bank accounts had been used in various frauds. They later coerced her to mortgage 300 grams of gold and pay them ₹ 30 lakh. (Shutterstock) According to the central cyber police, the 61-year-old woman lived in Worli with her 62-year-old businessman husband and their son. On June 3, she received a call from a person who claimed that he was calling from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). 'The caller told her that a phone number registered in her name was being used for illegal businesses like harassing people,' a police officer from the central cyber police station told Hindustan Times. When the woman said the number did not belong to her, they connected her to a person who claimed to be Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer Rajeev Sinha. This person told her that funds related to the alleged money-laundering case against Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal had been transferred into a bank account in her name, and asked her to sign a letter requesting that her case be fast-tracked. Thereafter, another caller who posed as a CBI judge placed her under digital arrest and asked her not to speak about the case with anyone. 'She then got another call from a man who posed as an officer of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). The caller inquired about her funds and when she said that she had nothing barring 30 tolas or 300 grams of gold, he explained how she could mortgage the gold,' said the police officer. The woman subsequently mortgaged the gold and availed a loan of ₹ 30 lakh, which she transferred via RTGS to a bank account which the frauds claimed belonged to the court. The money would be returned to her after verification, they told her. 'The woman realised she had been duped when she read a news report about a digital arrest fraud while travelling via train to Vadodara in Gujarat,' said the police officer. 'She then approached the cyber police with a complaint.' The police have registered a first information report (FIR) based on the woman's complaint under sections 204 (personating a public servant), 308 (extortion), 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by personation), 336 (forgery) and 340 (forged documents or electronic records and their fraudulent use) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Hindustan Times
11-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Three held for ₹2.5-cr digital arrest fraud in Chandigarh
The cyber police station have arrested three persons for orchestrating an elaborate digital arrest scam to dupe an elderly woman of ₹2.5 crore. A case was registered on June 1 after the victim, Sumit Kaur, a resident of Sector 10A, Chandigarh, alerted the police. She said she received a call on May 3, with the caller claiming to be from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller informed her that her SIM card had been misused in a criminal case, and she was named in an FIR. What followed was a calculated psychological assault. In a series of high-pressure WhatsApp video calls, a person pretending to be a police officer told her that two arrest warrants had been issued against her in connection with a money laundering case involving the CEO of Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal. The scammers impersonated senior law enforcement officials, including a DIG of CBI and even CJI of the Supreme Court, to build credibility. Kaur alleged that she was made to take an 'oath of secrecy' and told that her funds needed to be verified to prove her innocence. Over the next few hours, she was manipulated into transferring around ₹2.5 crore into various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. During probe, police found that these accounts were fraudulently opened and operated by members of the cybercrime syndicate. Following analysis of KYC documents, call detail records (CDRs), IP addresses and bank account transactions, the cyber crime team tracked the suspects across Uttar Pradesh. On June 6, raids were carried out in Hathras and Agra, leading to the arrest of Dharmendra Singh, 28, a resident of Hathras and Ram Kisan Singh, 36, a resident of Agra. Both were found to have knowingly opened and leased out multiple bank accounts used in the scam. On June 8, another raid was conducted at Budhanpur in Saharanpur, resulting in the arrest of Sakib, 24, who admitted to opening a firm and bank account in his name and allowing it to be used by his brother-in-law and associates for fraudulent transactions, in exchange for a 10% cut of the funds. During interrogation, all three accused confessed to their roles in the racket. Police have obtained their custody to unearth the wider network involved in the scam. Police believe the arrested trio is part of a larger organised network of cyber fraudsters operating across multiple states. Efforts are underway to trace the prime accused and recover the siphoned funds, they said.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Time of India
Retired govt official loses Rs 4.2 crore to digital arrest scam
Thane: An 80-year-old retired official from the Maharashtra Water Conservation Department recently fell prey to a sophisticated digital arrest scam , losing Rs 4.2 crore. The fraud involved fake legal threats , impersonation of officials, and even a simulated Supreme Court hearing to coerce the elderly victim into transferring his life's to a complaint filed at the Kapurbawdi police station, the scam began on April 14 when the victim received a call from an unknown person posing as an officer from the telecom department. The caller claimed that a bank account was opened using the victim's Aadhaar details under the name Naresh Goyal and was being used for money laundering. The caller further alleged that an FIR was lodged against the victim at Kurla police station in Mumbai for threatening a shopkeeper, said a police escalate the fear, the call was transferred to another impersonator who claimed that a Supreme Court arrest warrant was issued against the victim and warned that he would now be placed under video surveillance until the court hearing. The scammers even arranged a fake video call simulating a court proceeding, during which a person pretending to be a judge pronounced a seven-day remand for the victim, the police fraudsters used the non-existent concept of "digital arrest" to intimidate the elderly man, claiming he was under constant surveillance and could not leave his residence without permission. This completely fabricated legal term was designed to isolate the victim and prevent him from seeking advice from family members or the following days, the victim received further calls pressuring him to transfer funds from his personal bank accounts under the pretext that the money was linked to suspicious activity. The scammers, claiming to represent investigative agencies, convinced him that the money had to be moved to govt-monitored accounts for verification purposes. They sent multiple bank account numbers via WhatsApp for these transfers, said the the threats were genuine, the retired official transferred substantial sums from his private bank accounts to the specified accounts. The deception was only discovered when the victim eventually informed his son about these transactions, who immediately investigated and confirmed that his father was made the target of an elaborate scam. A police officer said legitimate law enforcement agencies never demand money transfers during investigations and that "digital arrest" is not a real legal procedure. Citizens are advised to report suspicious communications immediately.
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Time of India
Sambhajinagar woman loses Rs 61.7 lakh to cyber fraudsters posing as Central Bureau of Investigation officers
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A woman (55) from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city was allegedly duped of Rs 61.74 lakh by cyber fraudsters posing as officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) who threatened her with arrest. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The complainant invested her late husband's settlement funds in mutual funds after his death in 2019 due to Covid-19. According to her complaint, she received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number on March 4. The caller, claiming to be from Colaba police station in Mumbai, informed her that a man named Naresh Goyal had misused her Aadhaar and PAN to open a bank account at Colaba, and the account was allegedly used for money laundering, drug trafficking, and identity theft. The impersonator told her that she was under CBI surveillance and sent her a forged letter bearing the agency's logo. She was told to cooperate with an ongoing investigation by transferring all her funds to "govt-monitored" accounts. Under fear, she complied. Between March 12 and April 17, the woman transferred Rs 61.74 lakh in multiple instalments to bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. The fraudsters sent fabricated receipts after each transaction to build credibility. After the final transaction, the fraudsters became unreachable. The woman realised she was scammed. She approached the cyber police and filed an online complaint on April 19. Carrying out a preliminary probe, the case was handed over to the Jawaharnagar police station, which finally registered an FIR late on Tuesday.
