Mumbai: Senior citizen placed under 'digital arrest' by online fraudsters, forced to pay Rs 14 lakh

Mumbai: A 67-year-old woman was "digitally arrested" by online fraudsters and forced to pay Rs 14 lakh for clearing her name in a non-existent money laundering case, a Mumbai police official said on Monday.

As per the advisory of cyber-security agency CERT-In, a "digital arrest" is one in which victims receive a phone call, e-mail or message claiming they are under investigation for illegal activities, such as identity theft or money laundering.

"The scammer threatens the victim with arrest or legal consequences unless he takes immediate action. They often create a sense of panic to prevent rational thinking. Under the guise of "clearing their name", "assisting with the investigation" or "refundable security deposit/escrow account", individuals are coerced into transferring large sums of money to specified bank accounts or UPI IDs," the advisory said.

Speaking about the case involving the 67-year-old woman, the police official said, "The accused posed as Delhi Telecom Department and Cyber Crime branch personnel. They placed her under 'digital arrest' after accusing her of involvement in a high-profile money laundering case. The crime took place between September 1 and 5 in Kandivali West where she stays with her sister-in-law." "A case was registered on Saturday on her complaint at North Region Cyber Police Station. As per the complaint, the woman received a call on September 1 from a person who identified himself as an official of Delhi Telecom Department. She was told a case was registered against her at Delhi Cyber Crime branch. The accused told the woman her Aadhaar card was used in the crime," he said.

The accused then got her to speak to his accomplice, who posed as cyber crime branch officer Rakesh Kumar, the official added.

"After being shown three fake Delhi police letters and told that she could be jailed for three to five years by Kumar and a woman accused who called herself Shobha Sharma, the victim got scared. Sharma then asked the victim about her bank accounts and mutual funds, fixed deposits and also asked her to go to the bank and deposit all the investments in the bank account provided by her," he said.

"On Sharma's instructions, the victim went to the bank, broke fixed deposits, mutual funds as well as savings and deposited Rs 14 lakh in the given account number through RTGS. The caller promised to return the money after verification. The woman realised she had been cheated after talking to her son, following which she approached police," the official said.