The police launched an awareness campaign against fraudsters posing as fake cops and cheating people, two cases already registered in south Mumbai police stations, accused still at large
A day after the ADC reported an incident where an elderly woman was cheated by three men posing as fake police officials and fled away with her gold ornament, the police have started an awareness campaign against a suspected gang cheating people by posing as cops and fleeing away with their belongings.
“With summer vacation on, many people visit Mumbai and also travel out of Mumbai, also marriage season is ongoing in the city and people wear gold ornaments which can become easy targets to such cheat elements, there have been cases where fraudsters approach people, posing as police officials and then flee away with their belongings hence we are trying to spread awareness about it through whatsapp messages, social media and are reaching out to people through other modes of awareness including reaching them in person, it’s for the safety of the people,” said senior police inspector Vilas Gangwane of Dongri police station.
“Around 15 days ago, in the jurisdiction of Dongri police station a 33-year-old man was conned by cheats using similar modus operandi, stating we are police and hand us your cash, the victim was cheated of rupees one lakh four thousand, meanwhile the accused are still at large.” Gangwane added.
A 69-year-old woman was on May 5 approached by three men, introducing them as officials of Mumbai police who were trying to nab a woman with a knife in her hand and she was attacking people wearing gold ornaments, the victim was asked to hand over her 17 grams gold chain and was told she would be safely escorted to her destination. The woman handed over her chain amounting to over rupees 60,000 to the conman following which the accused fled from the spot. The victim complained to the DB Marg police and the officials are investigating the matter by recovering the CCTV footage of the area and scanning the past records of accused arrested in previous cases using similar modus operandi.
The Awareness Tips by Cops
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If anyone approaches you stating they are police officials, verify their rank, batch and the police station they are attached with
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Ask for the identity card of the person, if you suspect his/her credentials
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No police official will ask you to remove your gold ornaments on the road or streets, if the person approaching you asks to do so, note down their vehicle number
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While questioning the identity of the suspect, if the person is unanswerable, dial 100 to the police
The message on Whatsapp, an awareness campaign by the police