Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police-Bhubaneswar has warned against a recent surge in sophisticated cybercrime i.e cyber arrest scam calls, targeting city residents.
The scamsters are targeting people impersonating themselves as police officials to extort money from the individuals.
Commissionerate Police Bhubaneswar urged all residents to remain vigilant against such scams. People are requested to avoid unsolicited calls and not to entertain pressure tactics. Police requested people not to transfer money to unknown accounts based on instructions received over unsolicited calls or messages.
The police explained a similar incident faced by a city resident. As per police, a city resident received a phone call from an identified caller posing him as a senior official of Mumbai police. The fake official told him over phone that a FIR was lodged against for making indecent calls and sending harassing messages. The fraudster asked him to join a Skype call for clarification, sending him a fabricated FIR copy.
He was also threatened of immediate arrest for his involvement in a major money laundering case linked to Naresh Goyal, founder of Jet Airways.
To prevent arrest, the victim was coerced into sharing personal details, including Aadhar card information and bank account balances. The scammers then pressured the victim to transfer all bank balances to a supposed RBI-mandated government account for auditing. Sensing the scam, the victim recorded the call and report to the cyber police, Bhubaneswar.