Fraudsters posing as Army personnel and invoking nationalism execute unique crime in Hyderabad

A few weeks back, Rakesh received a WhatsApp message via a popular property website. He had just listed his flat, located in the IT corridor of Hyderabad, for rent. Rakesh was used to enquiries from prospective tenants but this message took him by surprise. The sender’s display picture showed a male in Indian Army uniform. In the image was a female child and a woman. Through the message, the person introduced himself as Deepak Bajrang, an officer of Indian Army who hails from Uttar Pradesh. He conveyed that he was looking for a flat for his family since he got transferred. Before Rakesh could respond, the other person texted the slogans, ‘Jai Bharat’, ‘Jai Hind’. 

 

Rakesh felt guilty negotiating the rent since it was an Army officer who was dutifully serving the country. However, he got suspicious as the Army officer started sounding desperate messaging him at odd hours. Upon enquiry with acquaintance in the Army, he learnt that it was unusual for an Army personnel to approach a flat owner this way. Rakesh stopped responding to the messages and a few days later, noticed that the display picture had changed and a young woman photo was uploaded. 

 

Rakesh was fortunate to have escaped a major scam but a property owner in Secunderabad was not.

 

In Hyderabad, a new type of cyber crime has become prevalent leading to cyber crime police issuing an advisory. The 40-year-old woman from Secunderabad has posted an add on an app seeking tenants. An unknown man posing as an Army officer contacted her and convinced her that an accountant from the Army would get in touch with her to pay rental advance.

 

The fraudster explained to her that it was a norm in the Army that mode of payment would be through a ‘reversal mode’, which would mean that the victim had to transfer a certain amount which would be credited back into her account. To gain her trust, he asked her to credit Rs 5 and the victim did as instructed and the amount was credited back. He then asked the victim to transfer the advance amount and when the victim did, he got back to her saying that the system had failed. He kept pushing the victim to transfer more amount so that the system acknowledges it and credits back the amount. 

 

When the victim repeatedly transferred the amounts and sought to know the status, he showed her fake receipts. The victim emptied her account losing Rs 1.3 lakhs. After repeatedly assuring that she would receive her money, the accused switched off his phone. The victim then approached the cyber police who registered a case and launched an investigation. 

 

The Hyderabad police have warned citizens to be beware of such frauds and not blindly believe individuals claiming to be from the Indian Army. 

India