Scammers looted 1.48 lakh from a 29-year-old woman from Bowenpally
Hyderabad: Hyderabad cybercrime unit officials are investigating a case where fraudsters posing as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials duped a 29-year-old woman from Bowenpally into transferring `1.48 lakh. The scammers initially introduced themselves as Aadhaar officials before escalating their ruse to claim they were CIA agents. They even forced the victim to take a loan under the pretext of verifying her financial records.
According to the complaint, the victim received a call from a person claiming to be working with the Aadhaar office. The caller informed her that multiple hotel bookings had been made in Delhi and Karnataka using her Aadhaar details and that she needed to report the matter to the CIA to prevent her Aadhaar from being frozen. She was then connected to another fraudster, who introduced himself as Sadanand Vasant from the CIA and even issued a fake complaint register number to gain her trust.
During a WhatsApp video call, the fraudsters alleged that a staggering `280 crore had been transferred to an NCP MLA’s account using multiple bank accounts, including her Aadhaar-linked accounts with three banks. They questioned her about her finances, and when she disclosed that she had `80,000 in her bank accounts, they pressured her into breaking her fixed deposit and transferring the money for “verification.” They “assured” her that the amount would be returned after confirming it was not linked to illegal activities.
Under pressure, the victim not only transferred the `80,000 but also took a loan to send an additional amount, bringing the total to `1,48,500. However, when she did not receive the promised refund, she realised she had been tricked and approached the police. Cybercrime unit officials have taken up the case and launched an investigation to trace the fraudsters.
