Septuagenarian Retired Officer Loses ₹16.16 Lakh In Digital Arrest Fraud

A 76-year-old retired Central government employee from Serilingampally lost ₹16.16 lakh after fraudsters subjected her to a digital arrest. According to the complaint, the fraud began on August 2 when the victim received a call from a person claiming to be from the Mumbai Police headquarters.

The caller said a complaint had been filed against her by the ATS in Lucknow in connection with a money-laundering case involving terrorist groups. When she said she could not travel to Mumbai due to her age, the suspects shifted the communication to WhatsApp video calls.

The fraudsters claimed that a bank account in her name was being used for terror-related transactions and declared her a suspect. They verified her details to gain her confidence and claimed that the RBI would examine her financial transactions. They instructed her to keep the matter confidential and not contact anyone. The suspects kept her on video calls for two days, instructed her to install Signal and share her mobile screen, and monitored her movements.

Posing as police officials, they pressured her to consolidate her savings and pension funds. On August 4, she was instructed to transfer ₹16.16 lakh to an account linked to a business in Haryana through RTGS. The suspects also sent her a forged document purportedly issued by the RBI as an acknowledgement.

When the fraudsters continued asking her to encash mutual funds and transfer savings, she contacted her daughter using a neighbour's phone. She then realised that she had been digitally arrested and defrauded. Police registered a case and are investigating the transactions in an effort to identify the suspects and recover the money during the investigation.