A year ago, Marcellus was subjected to a nasty cybercrime attack orchestrated from the badlands surrounding the NCR. Whilst we were able to repulse the attack using the resources at our disposal, millions of others in India – especially older people – are not so lucky. The growing army of educated but unemployed men in northern India prey upon retired middle class people with merciless ease as this story in The Print illustrates:
“It began with a phone call, followed by copies of an ‘FIR’ and an ‘arrest warrant’ shared on WhatsApp. Little did 75-year-old Vinod Chaudhary know that by the end of this ‘money laundering probe’, he would have been duped of Rs 1.78 crore ‘in the name of the law’.
Police in Haryana’s Sonipat have launched a probe into the case of a local resident who alleged that cybercriminals manipulated him and his wife, coerced them into staying at a hotel for two days—while ‘surveilling’ them through his phone camera—and extorted upwards of Rs 1 crore.
According to the FIR, fraudsters directed Chaudhary to transfer the money to “government accounts” for ‘verification’, but said accounts turned out to be fake, set up under fraudulent names. Chaudhary said he transferred Rs 1.78 crore via RTGS to these accounts between 14 and 20 November….
When ThePrint reached him, Chaudhary said…he was a businessman who settled down in Sonipat after retirement.
According to the FIR…Choudhary said he first received a call from an unknown number on 6 November. The person on the other side claimed to be a police officer and told Chaudhary that his name had cropped up in a money laundering case…the fraudster shared an FIR number with Chaudhary and told him an arrest warrant had been issued against him.
The copies of the fake FIR and arrest warrant were shared on WhatsApp….On 12 November, he received a second phone call during which fraudsters threatened him and sought out his bank account details.
On 13 November, he was asked to share a detailed account of his daily routing in writing—which he did. Between 14 and 20 November, Chaudhary transferred Rs 1.78 crore to several accounts as instructed….
The fraudsters then coerced the couple to leave their home due to “security concerns” and stay at a hotel. On 17 November, Chaudhary and his wife checked into a hotel near Sonipat’s Mama Bhanja Chowk. During their stay, they were constantly monitored via video calls by fraudsters.
It was after Chaudhary had been duped of Rs 1.78 crore that he realised those harassing him and his wife were not real cops.”
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Note: The above material is neither investment research, nor financial advice. Marcellus does not seek payment for or business from this publication in any shape or form. The information provided is intended for educational purposes only. Marcellus Investment Managers is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and is also an FME (Non-Retail) with the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) as a provider of Portfolio Management Services. Additionally, Marcellus is also registered with US Securities and Exchange Commission (“US SEC”) as an Investment Advisor.
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