<p>Udupi: Cyber fraudsters posing as officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Mumbai Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) allegedly cheated a 45-year-old man from Udupi of Rs 40 lakh through a series of intimidating phone and video calls.</p><p>In a complaint, Raghavendra Rao said that on January 11 at 3 pm, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be speaking from TRAI and alleged that illegal activities and threatening calls were being made using a mobile number registered in Rao’s name. The caller further claimed that a case had been registered at the Colaba police station in Mumbai and warned that the mobile number would be deactivated within two hours unless Rao contacted the police station and obtained a no-objection certificate (NoC).</p><p>The call was then transferred to another number, where a person claiming to be a police officer from Colaba police station told Rao that his mobile number had been used to open a bank account at a bank in Colaba, through which Rs 4.90 crore had been illegally transferred. The fraudsters also falsely linked him to an alleged money laundering case involving a person named Naresh Goyal, stating that a special investigation team had been constituted on the orders of the High Court.</p>.Karnataka man gets life imprisonment for murder over Rs 1,000.<p>The call was later converted into a video call, during which a person identifying himself as Vikram Rathod, dressed in a police uniform, claimed to be the investigating officer and threatened Rao with immediate arrest if he failed to cooperate. Over the next several days, the fraudsters continued to contact Rao under the pretext of investigation, collected various documents, and claimed that the case had been handed over to the ED for a joint probe.</p><p>Another individual, identifying himself as ED Director Rajesh Mishra, obtained details of Rao’s bank accounts and assets. Later, the complainant was instructed to transfer Rs 4 lakh from his wife’s bank account to a “confidential account” of the finance department for fund verification. Subsequently, Rs 21 lakh was transferred from his wife’s account and Rs 15 lakh from Rao’s account on January 23 to different bank accounts. Having realised that he has been cheated, he filed a complaint to CEN station. Accordingly, a case has been registered under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act and Sections 318(4) and 308(6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).</p>
<p>Udupi: Cyber fraudsters posing as officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Mumbai Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) allegedly cheated a 45-year-old man from Udupi of Rs 40 lakh through a series of intimidating phone and video calls.</p><p>In a complaint, Raghavendra Rao said that on January 11 at 3 pm, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be speaking from TRAI and alleged that illegal activities and threatening calls were being made using a mobile number registered in Rao’s name. The caller further claimed that a case had been registered at the Colaba police station in Mumbai and warned that the mobile number would be deactivated within two hours unless Rao contacted the police station and obtained a no-objection certificate (NoC).</p><p>The call was then transferred to another number, where a person claiming to be a police officer from Colaba police station told Rao that his mobile number had been used to open a bank account at a bank in Colaba, through which Rs 4.90 crore had been illegally transferred. The fraudsters also falsely linked him to an alleged money laundering case involving a person named Naresh Goyal, stating that a special investigation team had been constituted on the orders of the High Court.</p>.Karnataka man gets life imprisonment for murder over Rs 1,000.<p>The call was later converted into a video call, during which a person identifying himself as Vikram Rathod, dressed in a police uniform, claimed to be the investigating officer and threatened Rao with immediate arrest if he failed to cooperate. Over the next several days, the fraudsters continued to contact Rao under the pretext of investigation, collected various documents, and claimed that the case had been handed over to the ED for a joint probe.</p><p>Another individual, identifying himself as ED Director Rajesh Mishra, obtained details of Rao’s bank accounts and assets. Later, the complainant was instructed to transfer Rs 4 lakh from his wife’s bank account to a “confidential account” of the finance department for fund verification. Subsequently, Rs 21 lakh was transferred from his wife’s account and Rs 15 lakh from Rao’s account on January 23 to different bank accounts. Having realised that he has been cheated, he filed a complaint to CEN station. Accordingly, a case has been registered under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act and Sections 318(4) and 308(6) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).</p>