A 77-year-old South Mumbai woman became the victim of a cyber fraud, losing a huge  Rs 3.8 crore over the course of a month. The fraudsters, posing as senior law enforcement officials, kept the elderly homemaker in a state of fear, manipulating her into believing she was involved in a fake money laundering case.

The shocking scam began when the woman received a WhatsApp call from someone claiming to be a law enforcement officer. The caller informed her that a parcel she had supposedly sent to Taiwan had been intercepted, containing five passports, a bank card, clothing, and even drugs. When the woman denied any knowledge of the parcel, the caller alleged that her Aadhaar card was linked to the crime. To make the situation even more believable, the fraudsters connected her to a man claiming to be IPS officer Anand Rana, who demanded details of her bank accounts for investigation purposes.

As the woman remained trapped in this web, another fraudster posing as IPS officer George Mathew from the finance department joined the call. He instructed her to transfer money into shared accounts for ‘verification,’ assuring her that the funds would be returned once her innocence was confirmed. To further solidify their false authority, the scammers sent her a fabricated notice, complete with the Crime Branch’s stamp, and insisted that she keep her video call running 24/7, claiming it was necessary for ‘monitoring her compliance.’

Initially, the woman transferred Rs 15 lakh, but the pressure didn’t stop. The fraudsters constantly threatened her to reconnect the video call whenever it was disconnected, creating an environment of anxiety and coercion. For a month, the elderly woman, under duress, transferred nearly Rs 4 crore to the criminals, believing she was involved in a real investigation.

The Mumbai Crime Branch has since launched an investigation, suspecting that this meticulously orchestrated scam used fear tactics and fake documentation to isolate the victim, making her more vulnerable to exploitation.