She was directed to cooperate with the investigation over WhatsApp with another ‘officer’, who produced fake RBI documents and a fabricated ‘priority letter for investigation’ naming her as an accused in a 4.9 crore money-laundering case. Threatening immediate arrest and property seizure, the impostors ordered her to transfer funds for ‘RBI verification’.Frightened, she transferred 20 lakh to an IndusInd Bank account on Jan 8, and another 25 lakh to a Yes Bank account the following day. On Jan 12, the fraudsters insisted on speaking to her son and reportedly informed him that she had been cheated, making the family realise the scam and approach the police.In the second case, the 73-year-old retired professor from Saidabad told investigators that he first received a call on Nov 27 from a person claiming to be Inspector Gaurav Sarathi of Bengaluru police. He later received a video call with fraudsters wearing police uniform and flanked by a national flag, during which they accused him of human trafficking.Claiming that his bank balance had to be verified, the caller directed him to transfer 15 lakh from his bank to an Axis Bank account in the name of a travel agency. The victim complied, and he realised the fraud only recently after the accused failed to return the amount as promised. Two separate cases were registered under Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act and relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Hyderabad cybercrime police station.
