Man Calls Dawood Ibrahim His ‘Chacha’, Fooling Scammers Posing as Mumbai Police

Online payments have simplified financial transactions for millions of individuals globally, but they have also left them more vulnerable to scammers who want to defraud them of their hard-earned money with a few clicks.

It seems that a new fraud has surfaced in which “sophisticated scammers” are fooling individuals by pretending to be Mumbai Police officials. After a user on the microblogging site X revealed how he managed to trick these hackers by referring to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim as his “uncle,” a discussion over the fraud started.

X user Saurav Das said that he got an automated phone call alerting him to the fraud, claiming it was from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

“After about an hour of conversation, I was quite sure it was real.My number will be banned in two hours, the robot will continue, and you may push 9 for additional information. That sent me to the first man posing as a member of the Telecom Division. He informed me that a complaint had been filed in Bombay Andheri East over unlawful advertising and abusive SMS sent by a number linked to my Aadhaar.

Das claims that con artists informed him that Mumbai police had sent TRAI a blocking request, requiring it to disconnect all of the lines connected to his Aadhar card.

Additionally, this individual “forwarded” the call to the “Andheri East police station” and gave Das information about the FIR.

To get around the obstacle, he advised me to approach the police to give them a “clarification letter” stating that my original phone number belongs to me and that I have nothing to do with the case. “Identity theft is a major issue in India,” he said. This brought me to the second man, who identified himself as a police SI of the Mumbai Police. After getting some information, he indicated that because I couldn’t be in Bombay in person, my statement would have to be taped. A third person then gave me a video call (+91 90324 07612). He spoke fluent English and was dressed in a police uniform, Das reported.

Das posted a picture of one of the scammers posing as “Pradip Sawant,” a Mumbai police officer. The picture also included what seemed to be the Maharashtra Police emblem.

At the moment, Pradip Sawant works for the Mumbai Police as the DCP Security Branch.

When the third “police officer” didn’t have a Marathi accent, Das claimed to have had his “first hint of doubt.”

According to him, the “third police officer” “passed an order ‘to investigate my case’ and called his Head Constable in English.”

Das said he cooperated when the fourth man, the “head constable,” recorded his “statement” and incorrectly referenced my Aadhaar number.

“I was curious to see how they would use it. The man was using a walkietalkie to communicate (very well produced). I was allegedly engaged in a “money laundering case worth 65 crores,” Das said.

“It got really funny there, and I cringe.” He questioned, “Kya aap kuch chhupa rahe ho hum se.” Dawood is my chacha, I told him. “Who is Dawood?” he questioned. Ibrahim Dawood. My uncle, or chacha, is him. He said, “I told them to screw off, and that was it.

“The point is that the scammers are now a lot more sophisticated in their tactics,” Das added, pleading the Mumbai Police to take notice of his post regarding scammers mimicking them. I don’t see why the elder generation, including my parents, won’t be duped by this. For thirty minutes, I paid for the whole act.

Das’s tweet quickly gained popularity on social media as other users shared their own, comparable experiences.

Scammers are disseminating a photograph of Pradip Sawant’s fictitious identification card, which was posted by another user microblogger named “Darshna.”

When I received the same call, it seems that they are also sharing “Mr. Sawant’s” identity card, the woman wrote.