The police have registered a case and are probing the case.
Bollywood actor Anjali Patil was duped of Rs 5.79 lakh by a cyber fraud posing as a Mumbai Police officer, a report said. The incident took place last week when Ms Patil received a call from an individual claiming to be Deepak Sharma, an employee of FedEx Courier Company.
Sharma reportedly informed the actor that a parcel registered in her name, bound for Taiwan, had been intercepted by customs authorities who allegedly discovered drugs inside. The caller also claimed that Ms Patil's Aadhaar card was found within the parcel, urging her to contact the Mumbai cyber police to prevent any potential misuse of her personal information.
Subsequently, Anjali received a Skype call from an individual identifying themselves as Mr Banerjee from the Mumbai cyber police. Banerjee said that Mr Patil's Aadhaar card had been linked to three bank accounts involved in a money laundering case. To verify her innocence, Banerjee demanded a processing fee of Rs 96,525.
As the scam unfolded, the fraudulent officer escalated the situation by alleging the involvement of bank officials in the money laundering scheme. To close the case and avoid potential legal consequences, Ms Patil was coerced into transferring an additional Rs 4,83,291 to a Punjab National Bank account controlled by the fraud.
Days later, Ms Patil confided in her landlord about the incident, only to realise that she had fallen victim to a well-orchestrated cyber scam. The actor reported the incident to the DN Nagar Police, who promptly registered a case and initiated an investigation into the matter.
Ms Patil is best known for her roles in films like Finding Fanny (2014), Newton (2017), and Kaun Pravin Tambe? (2022).
The courier company FedEx in a statement said they never request personal information through unsolicited phone calls, mail, or email for goods being shipped.
"If any individual receives any suspicious phone calls or messages, they are advised not to provide their personal information. Instead, they should immediately contact the local law enforcement authorities within the vicinity or report to the cybercrime department of the government of India," FedEx said.