Chandigarh: Parents panic as fraudsters posing as cops fake students’ arrest

The scammers made independent WhatsApp calls to parents in the morning, falsely claiming that their children had been arrested

Parents of students at a prominent school in Chandigarh were targeted in an elaborate scam where fraudsters, posing as police officials, demanded money for the release of their children.

Parents reported that several calls came from a number that appeared to be from Pakistan. (Shutterstock)

The scammers made independent WhatsApp calls to parents, falsely claiming that their children had been arrested. Parents reported that several calls came from a number that appeared to be from Pakistan.

The scammers made the calls in the morning while the children were at school, using their personal information, such as dates of birth and fathers’ names, to convince the parents.

One parent, a Panchkula resident, narrowly escaped falling victim to the sophisticated scam, where fraudsters claimed that her daughter had been arrested in an anti-drug operation. The harrowing ordeal, which lasted over 17 minutes, involved the criminals using personal details, emotional manipulation and threats to extort ₹50,000.

The woman said at 10.30 am on Friday, she received a call from someone claiming to be from the anti-drug cell in Chandigarh. The caller informed her that her daughter, along with four boys, had been arrested in a drug case.

The fraudster even used the names of some boys familiar to the girl to make the story more convincing. The most distressing part came when the scammer played a girl’s cries, “Mumma, I didn’t do it!’— eerily similar to her daughter’s voice.

The scammer pressured her to speak to “SSP sir” and demanded ₹50,000, threatening that if she informed the media, he would involve senior officials to escalate the situation. In a state of panic, she was about to transfer the money via Google Pay but decided to contact her husband, who is abroad. “I was almost trapped,” the woman said, recounting how close she came to transferring the money.

Another parent shared that she received a call displaying “CBI” on WhatsApp. Upon answering, the caller mentioned her husband’s name and asked, “How do you know him?” Startled, she immediately disconnected the call.

DSP (Cyber) Venkatesh said, “While no formal police complaint has been filed in this case, we are witnessing a rise in digital frauds and related complaints. To raise awareness, we are running advertisements daily to educate citizens. Residents can also report any suspicious or fraudulent communication through the Government of India’s ‘Chakshu’ portal.”

The school authorities, preferring to remain anonymous, stated that no data leak could have occurred from their end. However, they added that if such calls continued, they will escalate the matter to the police.