‘Digital arrest’: Three lose ₹2.13 cr to cyber frauds in Gautam Budh Nagar

In one of the cases, a 72-year-old man was duped of ₹1.29 crore in Greater Noida’s Surajpur after fraudsters put him under digital arrest from February 6 to 26

Three people have been duped of ₹2.13 crore in separate “digital arrest” incidents reported in Gautam Budh Nagar between early February and mid-March, police said on Sunday, adding that all three cases were registered at the Cybercrime Branch police station.

Vijay Rana, station house officer of the Cybercrime Branch police station, said, “The three separate cases of cheating and cheating by personation under the BNS and IT Act have been registered, and efforts are underway to recover the money and identify the money trail.” (Representational image)

A 72-year-old man was duped of ₹1.29 crore in Greater Noida’s Surajpur after fraudsters put him under digital arrest from February 6 to 26.

The victim, a resident of Surajpur, stated in his complaint, “On February 6, I received a call from an unidentified number and the caller introduced himself as an official of Telecom Regulatory (Authority of India).”

Police said the called accused the victim of circulating obscene videos through his phone and that the Central Bureau of Investigation was now probing the case. “The victim was asked to reach Mumbai within two hours for a probe. On expressing inability to be there in such a short time, the suspect put him under digital arrest via video call,” said a police officer, adding that the victim was also blamed of having sold his bank account for ₹5 lakh, in which ₹2 crore illegal transactions were traced.

Police said that on the pretext of investigation and money verification, the victim was forced to transfer his savings into bank accounts provided by the suspects. “From February 6 to 26, the victim transferred ₹1.29 crore in multiple transactions. Later, when the money was not credited back to his account as assured, he realised the scam,” said the police officer cited above, adding that the victim finally approached police to file a complaint.

In another case, a 75-year-old man was put under digital arrest from February 24 to March 9 and duped of ₹75.69 lakh in Greater Noida’s Sector 1, police said.

The victim, a resident of a high-rise in Sector 1, stated in his FIR that he received a WhatsApp call from an unidentified number on February 24. “The caller introduced himself as the CBI director, and alleged that my Aadhaar card account was used in a bank account which was used to dupe 247 people of ₹38 crore.”

“To investigate, the suspect put me under digital arrest and I transferred ₹75.69 lakh in multiple transactions from February 26 to March 3,” reads the FIR.

Police said when the victim contacted the suspect to get his money back but was not responded to, he realised the fraud. He later reported the incident at the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and a case was registered at the Cybercrime Branch police station.

In a separate incident, a 50-year-old man lost ₹8.52 lakh in a digital arrest scam in Noida Sector 34, on February 12, after a man posing as a police officer called him. The fake officer told the man that he was found involved in money laundering, and a case had been registered in Jammu and Kashmir.

Vijay Rana, station house officer of the Cybercrime Branch police station, said, “The three separate cases of cheating and cheating by personation under the BNS and IT Act have been registered, and efforts are underway to recover the money and identify the money trail.”