Udupi Resident Duped of ₹89 Lakh by Scammers Posing as Police Officials
Udupi: A 45-year-old Udupi resident, Santosh Kumar, was cheated of ₹89 lakh in an online scam. The scammers, posing as police officials, threatened Kumar with a virtual arrest, leading to the financial loss.
According to the complaint filed at the Udupi Cyber Crime Police Station, Kumar received a call on September 11 from an unknown person claiming to be from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller alleged that Kumar’s mobile number was linked to illegal advertisements and obscene messages, resulting in 17 FIRs against him.
Later, a person dressed in a police uniform made a WhatsApp video call, claiming to be a Mumbai police officer. The impersonator asked for Kumar’s bank account details, the amount in the account, and instructed him to transfer the money to a specified account, threatening a virtual arrest until the issue was resolved.
The Udupi Cyber Crime Police have registered the case and initiated an investigation into the scam.