Mumbai Police have busted a cyber fraud racket in which scammers allegedly used the identity of Shiv Sena National Secretary and Spokesperson Shaina NC to dupe people in her contact network.
According to NDTV, nine people reportedly fell for the scam and transferred a total of Rs 4.90 lakh to the fraudsters. The case was cracked after a three-month investigation, which led the police to bank accounts in Bhandara, Maharashtra, and Bihar.
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How The Fraud Was Carried Out?
The cyber criminals allegedly gained access to Shaina NC's phone and used it to contact people from her list. They sent messages asking for Rs 49,000 urgently, assuring the recipients that the money would be returned within two hours.
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Since the requests appeared to come from someone they knew, nine people trusted the messages and transferred the money.
Shaina Files Police Complaint
The fraud came to light after Shaina NC filed a complaint at Gamdevi Police Station in Mumbai. Following the complaint, the police began tracking the transactions and examining the accounts that received the money.
How Police Recovered The Money
During the three-month investigation, Mumbai Police followed the money trail and identified accounts linked to Bhandara in Maharashtra and Bihar. Teams then carried out operations in both locations to recover the defrauded amount.
The operation led to the recovery of Rs 1.68 lakh in cash from Bhandara and another Rs 98,000 from Bihar.
Police also managed to prevent a separate transaction from being completed. One of the victims, Pankaj Jain, contacted his bank soon after making the payment, allowing the bank to freeze the Rs 49,000 transaction before the money could reach the fraudsters.
With the cash recovered from the two locations and the frozen transaction, the police managed to secure Rs 3.15 lakh out of the total Rs 4.90 lakh involved in the fraud. The funds were subsequently frozen.
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Shaina Thanks Police, Speaks On Justice For Victim
Shaina thanked the Gamdevi police officers Prashant Mohite, Pravinkumar Salunkhe and Virendra Singh Khandade for helping trace the money.
She said she wanted to ensure the victims got justice and added, “When someone loses money because they trusted you, you cannot stop at filing a complaint. You have to follow it through until justice is done,” as reported by Mumbai Mirror.
The case highlights how cybercriminals exploit people's trust by using familiar names and identities to carry out online fraud. It also serves as a reminder to verify unexpected money requests and report suspicious transactions without delay.
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