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It appears that cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated by the day. In a bizarre case of online financial crime, cybercriminals reportedly posed as police officers to retrieve important financial details from the victim after entrapping her in a fake case.
The case came to light after the victim shared her ordeal on Twitter and how she was saved by sheer luck.
In a series of Tweets shared on January 10, 2023, Geetika Rustagi, a content marketing specialist, mentioned how she had received fraudulent calls alleging her involvement in a money laundering case, with the ‘police’ seeking her cooperation and her banking details.
She said she received a call on the morning of January 10, 2023 from a number claiming to be from FedEx ‘customer service’. The call then proceeded to alert her that a parcel linked to her Aadhaar ID had been flagged because it contained some illegal items.
Rustagi was then informed that the package, which they claimed was sent last month, on December 13, 2022, contained 800 gm of weed among other illegal items. She was informed that the package was sent from Mumbai to Taiwan, to which Rustagi mentioned that she did not live in Mumbai.
She said her call was reportedly patched to the Mumbai Police Cyber Cell as well.
“My call was transferred to sub-inspector Naresh Gupta Banerjee (not sure if this is a legit ID), which was shared with me on WhatsApp (red flag 2). He apparently recorded my statement on WhatsApp, as I can’t visit Mumbai at such short notice,” she tweeted.
Rustagi revealed in her Tweets that she shared the details by the customer care executive of “one Aparna Krishnaya with Employee ID A15911. (Red flag 3) She was super helpful and seemed like they handle such cases on daily basis. That’s how confident she was”.
This was reportedly followed by sub-inspector Naresh Gupta Banerjee pretending to record her statement about her workplace and if she suspected anyone, and “has my Aadhaar card been stolen or lost?”
“He also said ‘we had received CCTV footage of the warehouse where the parcel was dropped. They can’t confirm the identity of the woman who dropped the parcel because she is wearing a mask’. Fair enough. I am still talking to him,” Rustagi said in her Tweet.
Rustagi was then apparently informed that “several millions of dollars are being laundered through these accounts, ‘and your ID is being used for Hawala transactions. All this is being orchestrated by someone called Gerold, who has been arrested by Mumbai Police. This is an ongoing investigation, and we need full cooperation from you’.”
By this time, Rustagi reveals that her father overheard the conversation even as she was asked to not discuss the issue with anyone, and was also warned that “if anyone else gets involved in it, they are also complicit in the crime.”
“He sent me a document, which made me a party to the case and barred me from speaking to anyone,” Rustagi tweeted.
“He then asked me how many bank accounts I had and how much money I had. Have I received any big amount lately? ‘Have you been contacted by anyone to open a bank account etc.?’ He then assured me the case would be closed in 20-30 minutes if I cooperate. The Police in Charge PRAKASH KUMAR GUNTU was made to sound like he is an important guy and is really busy. He also said the same thing: ‘cooperate, and this will be resolved in 20-30 minutes. Almost 150 people are under investigation for this case’,” she further said in her Tweet.
After this, Rustagi was reportedly informed that “there are bank employees, corporate employees, desperate people, etc. all sorts of folks involved. ‘Some are doing it willingly, and some got scammed like you. The only way to resolve this is by ‘cooperating’ and letting us into your bank accounts’.”
She was then asked to “transfer 95499 to us to verify whether your accounts have been compromised and verify account details. ‘We will refund the money in 15 minutes. You remain on the call throughout, we assure you of all help’.”
When Rustagi insisted that she couldn’t just transfer the money and what guarantee was there that it would be returned, she was given a fake document as an acknowledgement.
However, by this point, “I was not transferring the money at any cost. So, he threatened to freeze my accounts for 2-3 years, “and there’s nothing you can do about it. Either pay or come to Mumbai,” he said. I agreed to come to Mumbai, and he hung up the minute he heard that,” she wrote.
“That was the end of the story, but I am now worried that the scammers have my Aadhaar details and are likely to misuse them. I panicked, and I couldn’t think rationally. Even when I was surrounded by my family, I ignored their warnings,” she said.
“If I had been alone, I am sure I would have booked an overpriced ticket or transferred that money. Now I know how believable these scams are and anyone can panic. Do not mock or preach them. It must be hard to lose your hard-earned money like this,” she further said in her Tweet.
Rustagi also shared the WhatsApp number from which the caller reached out to her, “6232181319” noting that “if it can happen to someone like me who is always online, reading and watching content about online frauds, I am sure it can happen to anyone.”
Rustagi further said that in such situations it is important to “be calm, alert and seek help”.
“Do not panic, even if you feel like it is a big mess. DO NOT PANIC (like I did). I got saved, but not everyone is that lucky. The presence of mind and alertness is the key here,” she further said in her Tweet.
