Mumbai: Milk vendor duped of Rs 1.30 lakh by fraudster posing as army officer

Milk vendor Nagraj Medabojan

A Santacruz-based milk vendor lost Rs 1.30 lakh after receiving a call from an unidentified fraudster posing as an army officer. The caller claimed that he and his team were camping inside the Mumbai University, Kalina campus, and required a daily supply of 40 litres of milk and 15 kg of curd for a month.

To gain the vendor's trust, the fraudster even shared the location of Mumbai University.

Initially, the fraudster contacted the milk vendor via WhatsApp and later video-called him while dressed in an army uniform. During the video call, the accused transferred Rs 10 to the vendor and asked him to verify the credit by checking his balance. He then convinced the vendor to enable WhatsApp's screen-sharing feature, during which he accessed the vendor's phone and allegedly transferred Rs 1.30 lakh from his Google Pay and bank account.

The victim has been identified as Nagraj Medabojan (29), a resident of Vakola who supplies milk and curd to various shops in BKC, Kalina, and Vakola. Following the incident, the Vakola Police registered an FIR and launched an investigation to trace the accused.

According to police officials, the fraud occurred around 11:00 am on Sunday when Medabojan received a WhatsApp call from the accused.

Speaking with Mid-Day, Medabojan said, "On Saturday night, I received a message from a man named Satish Kumar who introduced himself as an army officer. He told me his unit was camping inside the Kalina campus of Mumbai University for a month and that they needed 40 litres of milk and 15 kg of curd every morning."

"It was a huge order, and I immediately agreed. On Sunday morning, he messaged me again, asking me to deliver the milk and curd inside the university campus by 10 am. Around 8 am, he video-called me. He was dressed in an army uniform and claimed his senior officer would also speak to me. Another man appeared on the call, repeated the same request, and emphasized the importance of timely delivery."

"During the video call, he asked me to click on the screen share option. Then he sent me Rs 10 to my Google Pay and asked me to check the balance. When I opened the app and entered my password to check, they accessed my account and allegedly transferred Rs 65,000 from my Google Pay and Rs 55,000 from my bank account. I immediately approached the police and registered an FIR," Medabojan added.

A police officer said, "We have registered an FIR against the unidentified fraudster and informed the bank to freeze the concerned account. The victim also reported the case by calling 1930. Our cyber team is actively working to trace the accused."