Retired Air Force Employee in Bollarum Defrauded of Rs 33.5 Lakh in Cyber Scam

A 73-year-old retired Air Force employee residing in Bollarum, Hyderabad, was defrauded of Rs 33.5 lakh in a sophisticated "digital arrest" cyber scam. Following a formal complaint lodged by the victim, the Malkajgiri police registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident, which commenced on June 30.

According to the police, the cyber fraud began when the ex-serviceman received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller, who claimed to be representing the "Suchna Vibhag", informed the victim that a phone number had been fraudulently registered under his Aadhaar card details in the Uttam Nagar area of Delhi.

The caller further claimed that a First Information Report (FIR) had already been registered at the Daryaganj police station in Delhi due to the alleged misuse of this phone number. To resolve the issue, the caller instructed the victim to speak with a Delhi police officer and provided a contact number.

When the Bollarum resident called the provided number, an individual claiming to be Delhi police officer Vijay Khanna answered. Khanna asserted that a money laundering case had been registered against the retired Air Force employee.

To further intimidate the victim, the fake police officer connected the call to another individual posing as Enforcement Directorate (ED) official Rahul Gupta.

The fraudster impersonating Rahul Gupta told the victim that the Supreme Court of India had issued summons against him. By threatening the senior citizen with immediate arrest and the confiscation of all his assets, the accused successfully coerced the victim into disclosing the details of all his investments.

Through this elaborate deception, the fraudsters managed to swindle Rs 33.5 lakh from the victim. The Malkajgiri police are currently investigating the matter to trace the stolen funds and identify the culprits involved in the cyber crime.