Thane resident loses ₹59 lakh to scamsters posing as Customs, CBI officials: Report

According to a senior police officer, the fraudsters told the victim that a parcel belonging to him had been seized and drugs were found inside it.

A 54-year-old man from Maharashtra's Thane lost ₹59 lakh after cyber fraudsters posing as Customs officials and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sleuths threatened to take action against him for alleged criminal activities, the police said.

After transferring the money, the victim realised that he had fallen prey to a scam and approached the police to file a complaint, (Representational Image)

The incident occurred between November 26 and December 2.

A senior police officer told PTI, “The victim received multiple phone calls from a person who identified himself as a Customs officer from Delhi. He told that a parcel belonging to the victim had been seized and drugs were found inside it. The caller claimed that the case was being transferred to the CBI for further probe.”

According to the officer, the man was asked to cooperate with a “CBI official.”

The victim then received a call from the “CBI official,” who told him that his name was found to be linked to serious criminal activities, including human trafficking and money laundering. He was asked to pay ₹59 lakh to resolve the matter and clear his name from the cases.

“Scared, the victim transferred the amount into bank accounts provided by the callers. However, after transferring the money, he realised he had fallen prey to a scam and approached the police to file a complaint,” the police officer said.

Based on the Thane resident's complaint, a case was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new penal code which replaced the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in July, and relevant sections of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

The BNS sections invoked in the case are 318(4) (cheating) and 319(2) (cheating by impersonation).