A retired 73-year-old insurance executive and his family in Noida lost ₹1.1 crore to hackers pretending to be Mumbai Police and CBI agents. The scammers forced the family over five days to believe that they were under inquiry for money laundering, therefore compelling them to move their savings under the threat of imprisonment.

Resident of Sector 19, Noida, Chander Bhan Paliwal received a call from Colaba police station Mumbai on February 1. 

Another caller shortly after identified himself as a senior police officer from Greater Mumbai Police, stating that Paliwal is involved in 24 crime cases including money laundering. He also claimed that to launder funds, a bogus bank account had been opened under Paliwal’s Aadhaar card and that victims had reported getting fraudulent calls from his registered number. The caller claimed Paliwal would be brought before the Cyber Crime Cell of Mumbai and said a court had issued a warrant for his capture.

Terrified by the charges, Paliwal followed the fraudsters' instructions to check his Aadhaar card over a WhatsApp video call. Unknowing he was falling right into a carefully planned trap, he also gave specifics of his own bank accounts.

Introducing yet a further imposter—this time pretending to be a CBI officer—the fraudsters raised the pressure. Paliwal was informed that his case had been sent to the CBI for inquiry and that he would soon be tried in a CBI court. Paliwal said in his complaint, “Another imposter joined the ongoing video call to say that it would be impossible for a man my age to stay in jail,”

The robbers then asked for Paliwal's wife and daughter's contact information, threatening that they as well would be detained and housed in separate Mumbai jails. The following day, they set up a "court hearing" with a fake video call and a person acting as a CBI judge. Paliwal also received a bogus bail rejection.

Finally, the scammers instructed the family to withdraw and transfer all their money to prevent further legal action. Under constant intimidation, Paliwal and his wife visited their bank and transferred ₹1.1 crore via RTGS on February 4, while remaining on a video call with the fraudsters. When the criminals demanded more money the next day, a bank manager advised the couple to seek police help.

Realizing they had been conned, Paliwal approached Noida Cyber Police on February 6 and filed a formal complaint. The police have registered a case under charges of extortion and cheating under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.

Inspector Vinod Yadav, investigating the case, highlighted that the fraudsters had deliberately targeted an elderly couple with limited social interactions. “They have not been socializing with neighbors. They have hardly left the house since the incident. The fraudsters seem to have done proper research before targeting this family,” he said.

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