Padma Bhushan awardee SP Oswal loses ₹7cr in online scam
What's the story
SP Oswal, who heads the Vardhman Group and is also a Padma Bhushan awardee, has fallen victim to a massive online fraud worth ₹7 crore.
The Ludhiana Police have nabbed two suspects from Assam and West Bengal in connection with this case.
They've even managed to recover ₹5.2 crore from them, making it one of the biggest seizures in India's cybercrime history.
Modus operandi
Fraudsters impersonated CBI officials in scam
The fraudsters involved in the scam impersonated members of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) team.
They contacted Oswal, alleging that his Aadhaar had been misused in a case related to fake passports, and financial fraud.
The deception started with a phone call from an individual posing as a CBI officer based in Mumbai, who even conducted a video call dressed in police uniform against a backdrop featuring the CBI logo.
Scam escalation
Oswal duped into transferring ₹7 crore for bail
The scam took a serious turn when the fraudster sent Oswal a counterfeit "arrest warrant" via WhatsApp, purportedly authorized by the Supreme Court.
The imposter convinced Oswal that he was under "digital arrest" and persuaded him to transfer ₹7 crore for bail proceedings.
Following this, Oswal's team reported the incident to the Ludhiana police who promptly acted to freeze the accounts involved in this fraudulent activity.
Recovery efforts
Police recover ₹5.2 crore from fraudsters' accounts
Inspector Jatinder Singh from the Ludhiana cybercrime police station shared that the suspects instructed Oswal to transfer ₹4 crore to one account, and split ₹3 crore into three separate transactions for another.
Despite the police acting quickly, the fraudsters managed to withdraw ₹1.7 crore before their accounts were frozen.
The police have since returned the recovered amount of ₹5.2 crore to Oswal, while investigations into this extensive scam operation are still ongoing.