Cyber fraudsters threaten 82-year-old woman in Mumbai with arrest over video call, swindle Rs 5 lakh

 Cyber fraudsters posing as Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials forced an 82-year-old woman in Mumbai to transfer nearly Rs 5 lakh to their account by threatening her with a fake arrest warrant over a WhatsApp video call.

The crime came to light after the victim’s Dubai-based son received a bank notification regarding the funds transfer. He then alerted his mother about the fraud, and an FIR was registered at the Navghar police station on Thursday.

According to the police, the victim lives in Mulund and retired as an assistant manager from a private firm two decades ago. She has been staying alone after her husband died in 2012. Her son works in Dubai, while her daughter is married and lives with her in-laws.

The victim alleged that she received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number on Monday. The caller claimed to be speaking from the ED and threatened her not to hang up the phone. The caller then transferred the call to a purported woman officer named Kavita. The ‘woman officer’ told the victim that a transaction of Rs 2 crore related to terror funding had taken place in her bank account, and the agency would take action against her under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The impostors then shared a letter on a forged letterhead of ED.