by Ajay Kumar
Lucknow: Cyber fraudsters in the capital of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, transferred nearly Rs 1.9 crore from two NRI sisters’ accounts. The two sisters had come to India from Canada for a visit.
First, the fraudsters digitally arrested them and then tried to scare and intimidate them in various ways. The fraudsters used different methods to frighten the sisters in order to steal money.
They threatened to implicate them in a money laundering case. The fraudsters even told them that transactions had been made from their bank accounts to terrorists, and that they would be sentenced to life imprisonment for this charge. Using such tactics, the fraudsters managed to transfer Rs 1.9 crore into their accounts.
The sisters who fell victim to this digital scam, Suman Kakkar and Vinay Thapliyal, are Canadian citizens who were visiting India.
They reported that they received a call from someone impersonating a Mumbai Crime Branch officer, who then intimidated and threatened them through a video call. Out of fear, they sent the money. However, later when they realized that it was a fraudulent call and someone had deceived them, they filed a complaint at the Cyber Crime Police Station and registered an FIR.
Upon learning of the incident, the Cyber Crime team immediately sprang into action. The police froze Rs 25 lakh in the initial stages. Preliminary investigation revealed that the fraudsters had transferred this amount to several bank accounts across four states.
