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Retired MUDA Engineer trapped in cyber fraud

Fraudsters pose as Central Agency officers, use fear and forged letters to extort money

Mysore/Mysuru: In a shocking case of cybercrime, a retired Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) — now Mysuru Development Authority (MDA) — was conned out of Rs. 1.20 crore by a gang posing as officials from Central Investigative Agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (IT) Department.

The elaborate scam, executed over several days, involved psychological manipulation, fear tactics and forged documents to trap the victim.

The ordeal began when the victim received a video call from a man who introduced himself as a CBI officer.

Speaking in Hindi, the caller alleged that a man named Naresh Goyal had been digitally arrested and had confessed to having financial dealings worth Rs. 20 lakh with the retired Engineer.

Adept in regional languages: Realising that the victim was fluent in Kannada and Telugu, the fraudsters quickly adapted, with subsequent calls featuring impostors speaking in regional languages. They claimed to be officials from Mumbai Crime Branch, ED and IT Department. To appear genuine, they sent WhatsApp messages containing photographs of real IAS and IPS officers, asserting that these officials were directly involved in the investigation.

Psychological manipulation: The initial calls were carefully staged to instil fear and confusion.

The victim was sternly warned not to disclose the matter to anyone, including his family and was told that a CBI surveillance team was monitoring his every movement, both at home and outside.

On the third day, during another video call, the gang asked about the victim’s bank balance. Under intense psychological pressure and panic, the engineer revealed that he had Rs. 1.20 crore in his account, which was money from the recent sale of a house. This immediately became the fraudsters’ target.

The criminals then accused him of being involved in a money-laundering network and threatened him with immediate arrest and seizure of his assets unless the money was transferred to a ‘verification account’ for clearance. Despite his pleas that the money was legally earned through the sale of his house, the fraudsters refused to relent. They intensified their threats, claiming that a team was already stationed near his residence, ready to arrest him if he failed to comply.

Forged letterheads, seals

To make the deception more convincing, the criminals sent fake notices bearing forged letterheads and seals of the CBI, ED and IT Department. WhatsApp messages included images of cash bundles, debit cards and photos of supposed Police officers, adding to the victim’s sense of helplessness and fear.

Overwhelmed and terrified, the retired engineer eventually complied and transferred the money in two tranches — Rs. 70 lakh to an account named ‘Bhagyavathi Enterprises’ in Maharashtra and Rs. 50 lakh to ‘RGS Sports Private Limited’ in Kerala, totalling Rs. 1.20 crore.

Even after receiving the full amount, the fraudsters continued to harass him with more calls, demanding additional transfers.

It was only after confiding in a close friend that the victim realised he had been duped by a cybercrime syndicate. He then approached Mysuru Cyber Crime Police and filed a complaint.

During the investigation, authorities discovered that the siphoned money had been distributed across 529 different bank accounts, making recovery extremely difficult.

Police are now working to determine how the fraudsters obtained sensitive information about the victim’s financial status and are also tracing the sources of the forged Government documents used in the scam. Teams in Kerala and Maharashtra are being contacted to track down the accounts that received the transfers.