Callers pose as BBMP engineers, spin Shirdi tale to extract money

BENGALURU: If an unknown caller introduces himself as a BBMP engineer and seeks financial help stating he and his family are held up in Shirdi, Maharashtra, as their belongings have been stolen, beware. It could be a conman looking to cheat you.

Police said at least four cases of fraudsters having concocted the BBMP-engineer-stranded-in-Shirdi tale have come to their notice in the past fortnight. They said it appears to be a new technique used by conmen to dupe people.

In all the cases, the fraudsters knew personal details of the targets, including names of family members, their professions and home addresses. They shared the details to make the victims believe they were acquainted and convinced them to transfer money online.