CHANDIGARH: India is currently grappling with a web of online scams, with several individuals falling prey to it and losing lakhs or even crores in some cases.
Scammers are constantly finding innovative ways to dupe people and steal their money.
In the latest case of online fraud, a woman from Chandigarh got trapped in a sophisticated scam as she was duped of a whopping Rs 80 lakh by fraudsters posing as Crime Branch officers.
It is worth noting that the scammers targeted the linkage between Aadhaar and SIM cards to intimidate the victim.
As per reports, a woman from Chandigarh received a call from an unknown individual claiming to be a police officer from the Crime Branch in Mumbai.
The scammer laid the trap by threatening her with a cooked up story. The fraudster, under the guise of a cop, assertively said that the SIM card issued against her Aadhaar card was being used in illegal money laundering activities.
The fraudster bluffed the victim by saying that there were 24 money laundering complaints registered against her name so to appear credible.
She was taken aback by the caller's next move as she got completely stumped by it. The scammer threatened the victim with a possible arrest.
This fluke left her in a state of panic and seeking to avoid any legal trouble, the victim followed the caller's instructions meticulously.
To clear the case, the caller demanded that she deposit Rs 80 lakh into a specified bank account as part of an ongoing investigation, assuring that the money would be returned if she was found innocent.
The distressed woman transferred the money in a desperate attempt to get rid of it. Later, she realized that she had been deceived but it was too late as the scammer had disappeared without a trace, and the funds were unrecoverable.
A case has been lodged at the cybercrime police station, and an investigation is underway.
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