According to a complaint cited by The Times of India, the Barkatpura-based woman approached the city’s cyber crime police on Wednesday, detailing how the fraud unfolded over nearly nine months. She told investigators that the callers first pretended to be Ambani and later claimed to be officials of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The woman said the scam began in February when she received unexpected WhatsApp calls claiming she had won a Rs 2 crore jackpot in an online lottery. After she ignored the first approach, the callers contacted her again about two weeks later. This time, a man introduced himself as Mukesh Ambani and convinced her to share details of her Indian Overseas Bank account so the “prize money” could be transferred.
When the caller learned that her account did not have internet banking enabled, he instructed her to visit the bank and activate the facility. Soon after, he obtained her login credentials. A few days later, she was told that the entire amount could not be credited to a single account and was asked to provide details of another bank account. To build trust, the fraudster shared a forged document carrying her photograph, her name and an image of the Prime Minister, claiming it was linked to an RBI approval for releasing the Rs 2 crore.
Over time, she was persuaded to enable net banking on her accounts with SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as well. She told police that the callers, now posing as RBI officials, collected copies of her Aadhaar and PAN cards, photographs of her debit cards and even sent her a link that allowed them access to her phone.
Between March 13 and December 8, money was siphoned off from four of her bank accounts through 123 small transactions. Police believe this tactic was used to avoid triggering automated fraud alerts. The scammers also convinced her to prematurely break fixed deposits held jointly with her husband, falsely claiming that RBI norms required equivalent balances in her accounts before the lottery amount could be credited.
The fraud came to light when the woman visited a bank branch and found that only ?6,000 remained in her account. When the callers became unreachable, she reported the matter to cyber crime authorities.Police have registered a case under Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology Act, along with provisions related to organised crime, cheating and impersonation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.