Cybercriminals attempted to intimidate a graphic designer, Aniruddha Bapat, into compliance with a fake arrest threat on Friday morning. The scammers accused Bapat of using his mobile number to make extortion calls to celebrities. Alert to such frauds, Bapat outsmarted the criminals and reported the matter to the Crime Branch on Saturday.
Bapat, 35, who resides near Gurunanakpura Capital Petrol Pump and works for a Mumbai-based company, received a call from a suspicious number with a +97 country code. The caller claimed an FIR had been registered against his number in Mumbai and demanded his immediate surrender. When Bapat expressed his inability to travel to Mumbai, the caller connected him to a so-called senior officer.
Shortly after, a video call was initiated by a man dressed in a police uniform, who identified himself as an SHO of the Mumbai Crime Branch. The fraudster claimed that Bapat would be arrested at his home if he did not cooperate. However, Bapat, aware of such scams, disconnected the call.
Despite Bapat’s refusal to engage, the scammers persisted, repeatedly calling him and escalating their threats. They claimed to have people monitoring his movements and demanded he comply with their instructions.
In an ironic twist, the scammers even asked Bapat for feedback on their act. "Tell us where our acting went wrong. How did you recognize us? We will improve for next time," they said. When Bapat responded sarcastically, pointing out that this would only help them cheat others, the scammers admitted to their intent but continued calling him relentlessly.
Bapat revealed that this wasn’t his first encounter with such scams. Four months ago, he received a call claiming his parcel had been seized by customs. Thanks to his awareness of such frauds through news reports, he avoided falling victim on both occasions.
The Crime Branch has registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident. Authorities have urged citizens to remain vigilant against such scams and report any suspicious activity immediately.
