Retired Gujarat man loses Rs 1.47 crore in digital arrest scam over 18 days
A senior citizen in Gujarat's Vadodara was duped of Rs 1.47 crore by fraudsters who employed the infamous "digital arrest" tactic by posing as officials
A senior citizen in Gujarat's Vadodara was duped of Rs 1.47 crore by fraudsters who employed the infamous "digital arrest" tactic by posing as officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), police, and members of the judiciary and legal fraternity to intimidate and deceive him over an 18-day period. According to a complaint lodged with the Vadodara Cyber Crime Police Station, the man, who retired from a private company in 2024, received a call on March 10 this year from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as an official from TRAI and claimed that an unknown mobile number had been issued using the retiree's Aadhaar card to circulate unlawful and messages. Read Full Story The senior citizen was subsequently connected to another individual claiming to be an officer from the Mumbai Crime Branch.
Soon afterwards, he received a WhatsApp video call from a person identifying himself as a CBI officer. The caller alleged that a bank account had been opened in the elderly man's name using his Aadhaar details and that it had been used to launder funds worth Rs 538 crore. The fraudsters threatened the victim with seven years of imprisonment, scrutiny of properties, and convinced him that his reputation would be badly damaged. To make their claims appear genuine, they sent him bogus legal documents, including a copy of a fake FIR, a fabricated CBI notice, and forged papers allegedly issued by the Supreme Court. Over the following days, several individuals contacted the complainant through video calls from different mobile numbers, introducing themselves as CBI or Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, judges and lawyers.
The retiree was placed under "digital arrest" from March 10 to March 27. During this period, the scammers called him every two hours to ensure he marked his presence and instructed both him and his wife to remain available on video calls at all times. They were also warned not to disclose any details of the matter to relatives or anyone else. The accused then directed the senior citizen to liquidate his financial assets, including fixed deposits (FDs), insurance policies and other investments, and transfer the funds to bank accounts provided by them. Acting under fear and pressure, the man transferred more than Rs 1.4 crore from his State Bank of India (SBI) account on March 19. Later, on March 27, he transferred another Rs 19 lakh to a different account.
The BriefWire