Greater Noida West woman loses ₹24L to cyber frauds

Three hours after the digital arrest, when she finally informed her family members about the call, she realised that she had fallen into a trap

Noida: A 63-year-old woman in Greater Noida West was allegedly duped of ₹24 lakh to cyber criminals under digital arrest on Friday, said police, adding that a case was registered at the Cybercrime Branch police station on Saturday.

(Representational imagePolice advised people to report such cases at the NCRP portal and approach local police stations if any such threat call is received in future.)

Police said the victim, a resident of a high-rise, is a housewife. Her husband worked in Lok Seva Aayog.

“In her complaint, the victim alleged that she received a call from an unidentified mobile number on November 7 around 4 pm, introducing himself as a senior officer from an investigative agency. She was informed that a criminal case was registered against her and she will be arrested soon,” said an officer urging anonymity.

“I was informed that they will arrest me and my house was under surveillance. If I attempt to inform anyone, a raid will be conducted at my home,” the woman stated in her complaint about the digital arrest that lasted a few hours.

Out of fear, she transferred ₹24 lakh. “After three hours, when she finally informed her family members about the call, she realised that she had fallen into a trap,” said the officer.

Cybercrime Branch, station house officer, Ranjeet Singh said, “Subsequently, the victim filed a complaint at the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), and a case under sections 308(2) (extortion), 318(4) (cheating), and 319(2) (cheating by personation) of the BNS and the IT Act was registered on Saturday, and efforts are underway to recover money.”

Police advised people to report such cases at the NCRP portal and approach local police stations if any such threat call is received in future.