Padma Bhushan awardee SP Oswal loses ₹7cr in online scam
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.
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.
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.
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.
