A 74-year-old Bengaluru resident was tricked into parting with ₹1.31 crore by fraudsters posing as a public prosecutor and Mumbai police officials. The scammers falsely accused him of involvement in illegal foreign exchange transactions under FEMA.

Between January 23 and 31, S Ramesh (name changed) from Chikkallasandra received a call from individuals claiming to be Mumbai’s Sahar police. They alleged that his SBI account had been misused for hawala deals. Despite his denials, they intensified their threats, warning of a three-year jail sentence and his wife’s arrest.

To make the con more convincing, they sent forged legal documents and introduced him to a so-called public prosecutor, Deepak Saini. Pretending to assist, Saini demanded details of Ramesh’s finances and instructed him to transfer all his savings to “verify” them.

Fearing legal trouble, Ramesh transferred ₹1.31 crore from his and his wife’s accounts to multiple bank accounts controlled by the fraudsters. They even pressured him to sell his property for further payments.

Realizing he had been deceived, Ramesh finally contacted the cybercrime helpline (1930) and reported the fraud. The South CEN police have launched an investigation into the case.