EPFO promise turns into nightmare: Retired Mumbai man duped of Rs 1.4 crore over 1.5 years by fake CBI and PF officials; probe on

Mateen Hafeez & Nitasha Natu / TNN / Updated: Jun 08, 2025, 11:39 IST

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A retired government employee in Mumbai lost Rs 1.4 crore to cyber fraud. Scammers posed as EPFO officials and CBI officers. They tricked him into paying fees and taxes for his PF dues. The victim made payments for over a year. He later discovered the documents and cheque were fake. Police are investigating the case and the bank accounts involved.

EPFO promise turns into nightmare: Retired Mumbai man duped of Rs 1.4 crore over 1.5 years by fake CBI and PF officials; probe on

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MUMBAI: A former state govt employee was cheated of Rs 1.4 crore by cyber scammers who first led him to believe that he was interacting with a provident fund (PF) official and then scared him into thinking the official was arrested by the CBI. The 73-year-old complainant made payments for 1.5 years before realising that he had been taken for a ride and the documents sent to him were bogus.The west cyber police have registered an FIR and are investigating further.The complainant lives in Andheri with his family. In May 2023, he got a phone call purportedly from the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), New Delhi. The caller introduced himself as Alok Mehta. He told the complainant his PF dues were pending with the organisation and he could claim them once he paid Rs 7,230 as security charges. After the complainant paid the money, Mehta sent him a letter purportedly from the ministry of finance over WhatsApp. The letter had a govt of India seal on it and the complainant was convinced of its authenticity. The document said he would receive Rs 63.08 lakh if he made a payment of Rs 3.8 lakh.

Over the next 10 months, Mehta and two other "EPFO representatives" Sunita Tiwari and one Chakraborty stayed in touch with the complainant and got him to pay Rs 60 lakh under various pretexts.

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In March 2024, the complainant got a phone call from one Mahi Sharma who claimed to be an officer with the CBI's Mumbai office. She said Mehta had been arrested by the CBI for misappropriation of funds and the complainant's PF file had now come to the CBI for scrutiny. The complainant was left shaken.Sharma assured him his PF dues would be paid to him once she completed a thorough probe into his case. Subsequently, she sent him a cheque of his PF dues, but warned him to pay 30% as taxes. She also asked for charges towards issuing him a no-objection certificate as his PF dues were exceeding a crore. The complainant kept making payments as instructed by Sharma till Nov 2024. When he presented the cheque for encashing, he was told it was counterfeit. He approached cops. Police filed an FIR on May 28 and will probe who operated the bank accounts into which the funds were transferred.

About the Author

Mateen Hafeez

Mateen Hafeez, special correspondent at The Times of India in Mumbai, reports on terrorism, underworld, cybercrime and organized crime syndicates. He also writes about the jails in Maharashtra and focuses on human interest stories. He has covered the Ghatkopar bomb blast, Vile Parle bomb blast, Mulund train blast, train serial blasts in 2006, 26/11 terror attacks and Pune's German Bakery bomb blast. He has a special interest in Urdu fiction written by Ibn-e-Safi.

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