Mangaluru: Scammers posing as cops fleece Rs 50 lakhs from city resident

Mangaluru: Scammers impersonating as police officers over the phone duped a man of Rs 50 lakhs.

The incident reportedly occurred when an unknown caller introduced himself as Maharashtra Police Sub-Inspector Vinay Kumar on October 11, afternoon.

Claiming that a complaint of harassment was registered against him, the caller requested the victim to visit the police station. When the man refused, the caller suggested that a superior officer would be in touch. Shortly afterward, a person identifying as Akash Kullahari claimed to be calling from the CBI and informed the complainant about an investigation related to Naresh Goyal, a house confiscation, and the complainant’s ATM card supposedly found at the scene.

Further complicating the ruse, Kullahari stated that an amount of Rs 2 crore was allegedly invested in the complainant’s Mumbai bank account by 20 individuals, triggering a money laundering case. He warned that CBI might soon arrest the complainant unless the necessary documentation was submitted to the Supreme Court. Kullahari offered to handle the investigation online if the complainant could not appear in person.

The next day, Kullahari again contacted the victim, asking for bank account details and eventually instructing him to transfer funds to an account under Shivani Enterprises instead of RBI to avoid suspicion. Following these instructions, the complainant transferred Rs 50 lakh to the account specified on October 19 and sent the receipt to Kullahari over WhatsApp. The conman promised that the money would be returned within three days.

On October 23, the complainant reached out to Kullahari about the refund, only to be asked to transfer an additional amount to a different account. At this point, the complainant grew suspicious and filed a report with the police. A case has been registered at Kadri Police Station, and investigations are underway.