A 'digital arrest' involves cybercriminals using deception and fear to control a victim's digital communication and movement to extract money or information. Representative image.
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: A 72-year-old retired engineer was duped of more than Rs 10 crore after being kept on "digital arrest" for eight hours at his house in Rohini here, police said on Thursday.
The victim lives with his wife in Rohini's Sector 10. On a complaint from him, an FIR has been filed by the Delhi Police's Cyber Cell of the district and it was further investigated by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) wing.
Police managed to freeze Rs 60 lakh as the money was further distributed in several bank accounts.
"It is suspected that the cheating was done by callers from abroad but their associates in India helped them obtain information about the target," a police officer said.
A dedicated team of police and cyber experts has been tasked with recovering the money and probing the case further, he said.
According to the complainant, he received a call regarding a parcel from Taiwan. The caller told him that the parcel, with his name on it, has been intercepted at the Mumbai airport.
The caller further told him that the parcel contained banned drugs and that Mumbai Police Crime Branch officials would talk to him.
According to the complaint, the victim was told to download Skype for a video call.
"During the video call, he was kept on digital arrest for at least eight hours and the accused allegedly forced him to transfer Rs 10.3 crore to separate accounts. Later, he informed his family members about it," the officer said.
The victim's family members approached police in the first week of October and the case under relevant legal provisions was registered.
The victim further told police that the accused threatened him that his two children -- a son who lives in Dubai and a daughter who lives in Singapore -- will also be targeted.
The victim used to work with a private company. He retired a few years ago.