Mumbai, March 30 A 69-year-old man was cheated of Rs 1.57 crore in a cyber fraud, a Mumbai police official said on Monday.
The victim, a resident of Andheri who retired from a private firm, was tricked by a cyber criminal who contacted him in December last year and claimed that he was circulating obscene videos for extortion purposes, the official from the West Region Division Cyber Cell said, citing the complaint.
"He also received calls from the accused posing as police officers. He was threatened with arrest. The accused even showed him a fake courtroom. The victim was told to transfer all his funds to so-called official accounts as part of the investigation or face immediate arrest. He transferred Rs 1.57 crore, after which the calls stopped," the official said.
Upon realizing that he had been duped, the senior citizen approached the police, which managed to trace the money trail, leading to the arrest of auto-rickshaw driver Ashok Pal.
"Pal was arrested for allowing his bank account to be used for parking funds in exchange for a commission. Efforts are underway to apprehend others involved in this racket," the official added.
