A woman was defrauded of ₹1 lakh through a scam purportedly as an investigation by the Mumbai Crime Branch and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The scam involved fake letters and calls, claiming there was suspicion of financial transactions related to a ₹6.8 million (6.8 crore) money laundering case, and tricked the woman into cooperating with the supposed investigation.

Rina Dhekan, wife of Congress worker Sai Dhekan, received a call on her mobile phone on August 24 from a caller, pretending to be from Mumbai, claiming there was a parcel from Thailand and raised suspicion about her involvement in a money laundering case.

An individual posing as IPS officer Rakesh Kumar from the Mumbai Crime Branch East made a video call, alleging that ₹6.8 million  money laundering had occurred through an account opened in her name.

The scammer told her that the CBI would take over the investigation into money laundering, human trafficking, and drug smuggling. 

The man also informed her that as they could not show the CBI officer’s faces on video, a supposed investigation officer would contact her directly. They insisted she cooperate with the investigation and asked how much money she needed refunded from that account. Given her medical expenses, Rina mentioned needing ₹5,000 to ₹10,000. The scammer then assured her that they would provide ₹1 lakh considering her situation and instructed her to support the account surveillance.

As sought by the scammers, Rina shared her bank details with the fraudsters, who used fake identities to impersonate officials from the Crime Branch and CBI.

After sharing her details as directed, Rina found ₹1 lakh had been withdrawn from her account. 

Following the incident, Rina and her husband filed a complaint with the Gandhinagar Cyber Crime department.

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