A resident of Karnataka was duped out of ₹1.7 crore in an elaborate online scam where fraudsters posed as officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The scam began on November 11, when the victim received a call from someone claiming to be from TRAI. The caller informed him that a mobile number registered under his name was being used for illegal activities in Mumbai’s Andheri East. He was told an FIR had been filed against him for harassment due to marketing calls, and that his mobile service would be suspended within two hours unless he contacted the Andheri police station.

Shortly after, another person introduced himself as Pradeep Sawant, an officer investigating a money laundering case linked to the Naresh Goyal fraud. Sawant claimed that a fraudulent bank account had been opened in the victim’s name at Canara Bank in Andheri and was involved in illegal transactions.

The situation escalated further when the victim received a WhatsApp video call from two individuals impersonating Police Officer Rahul Kumar and CBI Officer Akanksha. They presented fake documents showing a fabricated case against him at the CBI and demanded money to resolve the issue.

Fearful of arrest and damage to his reputation, the victim transferred ₹1.7 crore between November 13 and 19 through multiple RTGS transactions. It wasn’t until later that he realized he had been scammed and reported the incident to the Cyber, Economic, and Narcotics (CEN) police station.

The police have filed a case and begun investigating the fraud. Authorities have urged the public to verify the identity of callers claiming to be from government agencies and to refrain from transferring money without proper verification.