In a sophisticated fraud of mega proportions, three fraudsters scammed a real estate agent in Maharashtra's Thane district and used his identity to carry out illegal bank transactions' worth over ₹383 crore, news agency PTI reported on Monday.
The 38-year-old man was reportedly unaware of the illegal transactions using his identity till the bank slapped him with a notice, an official said. Kasarwadavli police registered a first information report (FIR) on Saturday based on the victim's complaint.
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Explaining the modus operandi of the fraud, the victim told police that the accused persons approached him in May 2022 with a job offer and took away his identification documents like PAN and Aadhar numbers. The three accused later used the details to open two bank accounts under the victim's name and also created fictious shell companies which were linked to the real estate agent's mobile number and email address, the police said.
The fraudsters then used these bank accounts and shell companies to execute illegal transactions of more than ₹383 crore till May 2023. Suspicious of fraudulent activity, the bank slapped notices to the real estate agent who had no control over those accounts used by the fraudsters.
Also read | Mumbai woman conned out of ₹3.37 lakh on Tinder, saved from losing more by alert bank staff
{{/usCountry}}The fraudsters then used these bank accounts and shell companies to execute illegal transactions of more than ₹383 crore till May 2023. Suspicious of fraudulent activity, the bank slapped notices to the real estate agent who had no control over those accounts used by the fraudsters.
Also read | Mumbai woman conned out of ₹3.37 lakh on Tinder, saved from losing more by alert bank staff
{{/usCountry}}The victim later approached the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Thane and a case has been registered against three persons namely Deepak Shukla, Rahul Patwa, and Chetan Khade. The case is under investigation and no arrests have been made so far, police said.
Recent bank related scams
On Sep 17, police arrested a deputy manager of a private bank in Gurugram for allegedly assisting cybercriminals to open a fraudulent bank account that was used to dupe a Gurugram resident of ₹25.5 lakh.
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In another case of elaborate cyber fraud, a 59-year-old Bengaluru man was made to transfer ₹59 lakh as penalties after the fraudsters accused him of money laundering and threatened to block his mobile number. He was also put on a fake video call over WhatsApp to be tried by scamsters posing as CBI officers.
(With PTI inputs)