Pune: A 69-year-old lawyer from Pisoli lodged a complaint with the Pune cyber police on Sunday, alleging that online fraudsters cheated her of Rs 70 lakh after threatening to arrest her in connection with a money laundering case.The fraud took place between Aug 5 and 8, police said.According to police, the suspects contacted the lawyer through a video call and claimed to be officials of a public sector bank where she held an account.“The suspects told her that police were investigating a money laundering case involving large financial transactions. They accused her of using her credit card in a money laundering and human trafficking case,” an officer from the cyber police said.“The suspects told her that she would be arrested in connection with the cases. They later sent her an alleged arrest warrant through a messaging app and threatened that her arrest would cause her embarrassment and damage her reputation,” he added.The suspects allegedly kept her under constant threat of arrest and later offered to help settle the case in exchange for money. During the interaction, they also obtained details of her bank accounts, Aadhaar card and PAN card.The suspects later shared details of five different bank accounts and instructed the lawyer to transfer money to them. “Believing their claims, she transferred a total of Rs 70 lakh to the accounts over two days,” the officer said.Her family members later noticed that she appeared tense and was behaving differently.“When they asked her what was wrong, she told them about the alleged digital arrest. Her family members then took her to the police, following which she lodged a complaint,” he said.
