'Mumma Please Save Me': How Fake 'Cop' Tried to Scam Woman Saying Her Daughter Was Arrested

Amidst the spread of various scams in the market, it’s imperative for each of us to maintain vigilance and possess the ability to discern swiftly when confronted by scammers. This is precisely what happened when a woman encountered a call from an alleged ‘fake’ police officer attempting to deceive her into believing that her daughter was in trouble and orchestrating a scheme to extort money from her. However, the woman refused to be swayed and instead took to social media to recount her experience.

Sharing her encounter on ‘X’, Kaveri recounted, “I got a call about an hour ago from an unknown number. I unusually do not respond to unknown numbers but I don’t know what made me answer this call. On the other end was a guy who said he is a cop and asked me if I knew where my daughter K is.” She proceeded to narrate how the caller alleged that her daughter was apprehended because she, along with three friends, purportedly filmed an MLA’s son in a compromising situation and attempted to blackmail him.

Realising it was a scam, she activated call recording and requested to speak with her daughter. “The man sounded rough and rude throughout the call. To my horror, a recording was played to me “mumma mujhe bacha lo, mumma mujhe bacha lo..” (Mom, save me, save me) The voice sounded exactly like my daughters but that’s not the way she would have spoken,” said Kaveri.

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It was at this juncture that the impostor attempted to pressure her into compliance, suggesting that the supposed “victim” would drop the matter in exchange for compensation or a visit to the police station. “I asked him to let me speak do my daughter properly. He got all angry and rude. We are taking her away then, he said. Ok, take her away then, I told him. And I laughed. He cut the call,” Kaveri concluded.

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She even noted in one of the comments that the scammers accurately replicated her daughter’s name and voice, hinting at the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Subsequently, numerous individuals in the comments section shared similar encounters, underscoring the prevalence of such scams. One individual shared, “Omg this happened to a friend back in Assam. Got a call late night from a “cop” who asked if he has P’s dad, P who studies here and lives at this address in PG (across the country). And then told him she’s been arrested for possession of drugs.”

Another lamented, “A friend encountered a similar scam, losing ₹10k. The fraudsters demanded ₹70k, causing panic when unable to reach the kid’s phone. Thankfully, swift action saved ₹60k. Shocking depths these scams reach. Urgent need for awareness. Spread the word.”

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Meanwhile, such AI-related scams involving the cloning of voices for threatening purposes continue to proliferate. In December 2023 alone, a senior citizen residing in Yamuna Vihar fell victim to such a scheme, sending Rs. 50,000 to scammers after receiving a ransom demand via WhatsApp, accompanied by a cloned child’s voice.

According to the police, on October 24, Mr. Chawla received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number claiming his cousin’s son had been kidnapped. To convince him, the criminals played a voice recording of the child, created using voice cloning technology, pleading for help. Panicked and deceived by the realistic voice, Mr. Chawla complied with the scammers’ demands, transferring Rs. 50,000 via Paytm.