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Police-Impersonation Video-Call Scams in MumbaiPune Prompt FIRs After Losses Topping ₹70 Lakh

Investigators are tracing mule and UPI accounts linked to the fraud.

Overview

  • A 69-year-old Kalepadal resident was coerced into transfers totaling ₹48 lakh after video calls by men in police uniform, with an FIR filed on November 18.
  • Police in Pune booked the holder of the UPI account used in the fraud and all linked beneficiaries under IPC provisions and Section 66D of the IT Act.
  • A 27-year-old Palghar man lost about ₹17 lakh following an obscene Instagram video call and subsequent extortion by a caller posing as an assistant commissioner of police, with a case registered.
  • A 79-year-old Kandivli resident was kept under 12 days of WhatsApp video-call intimidation and forced to transfer nearly ₹9 lakh, and Charkop police are tracing the callers.
  • Scammers displayed fake FIRs and RBI notices and threatened arrest, while authorities stressed that “digital arrest” does not exist and urged victims to call 1930 and report on cybercrime.gov.in.