Noida woman duped of ₹30 lakh by cyber frauds posing as telecom officials

A 40-year-old woman was allegedly duped of ₹30 lakh by cyber fraudsters posing as officials from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) who told her that her Aadhaar card has been used to issue a mobile number that was involved in fraudulent transactions, officials said on Wednesday.

As per the complainant, identified as Priyanka Bansal, a resident of Prateek Wisteria apartments in Sector 77, on September 2, she received a video call from an unknown number.

“The caller said he is from TRAI and was calling regarding a mobile number that was used for illegal activities and that SIM card was taken using my Aadhaar card. He told me that I need to lodge a complaint, and for that he transferred the call to Lucknow to a person dressed in a police uniform. The person sent me documents on WhatsApp on letterheads of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and TRAI addressed to me, alleging that I have been involved in money laundering,” the woman said in her police complaint.

She further said, “The person also threatened me and said if I do not cooperate, police will visit my house, arrest me and spoil my reputation. He said all my calls are getting tapped and all my bank accounts will be checked for bogus transactions. They also asked me to sent money to accounts which they mentioned are of the Reserve Bank of India, in order to issue a ‘clearance report’ and protect my personal information after the case is closed.”

The fraudsters continued to call the woman daily over WhatsApp, asking her to be on constant call with them until she transfers money from her bank account to theirs.

“Over a duration of two weeks, with so many threats and untold mental pressure I ended up sending ₹30 lakh of my hard-earned savings to the fraudsters in multiple transactions. Even after transferring the money, they did not clear my name and continued to call me, disturbed my office work and said that if I inform my family members, I will have to visit the Lucknow police station for further proceedings,” said Bansal, who works with a finance firm.

Later on September 23, the woman finally submitted a written complaint at the Cybercrime police station in Noida and an FIR was registered.

“The unidentified suspects have been booked under sections 308 (2) [extortion], 319 (2) [impersonation], 318 (4) [cheating] of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and relevant sections of the IT Act. Police teams have been deployed to nab the culprits,” said Vivek Gautam, in-charge of Cybercrime police station, Noida.