Pune, 12 November 2025: In a shocking case of cyber fraud from Pune’s Kothrud area, where a 62-year-old retired LIC officer was cheated of around ₹99 lakh by conmen who sent her a fake arrest warrant with the forged signature of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The fraud occurred in the last week of October.
According to police, the woman received a phone call from a man claiming to be a senior officer from a “Data Protection Agency.” He falsely informed her that her Aadhaar-linked mobile number had been used for illegal financial transactions. Moments later, the call was transferred to another person identifying himself as George Mathew, who further threatened her with legal action.
The scammers claimed that her name was linked to a money laundering case and sent her a forged arrest warrant with official-looking seals and Sitharaman’s fake signature. They warned her that, given her age, she would be kept under surveillance and advised her to transfer money for “verification” to prove her innocence.
Terrified by the threats, the victim transferred ₹99 lakh from multiple bank accounts. She later realised she had been duped when she failed to reach the callers again, their numbers were switched off.
A case has been registered at the Kothrud Police Station. The Cyber Police are investigating the matter and have appealed to citizens not to panic if they receive similar calls. Authorities have urged people to verify such claims directly with the nearest police station or discuss them with family members before taking any action.
