Noida woman under ‘digital arrest’ loses ₹3 crore to frauds, made to break FDs

As the woman shared her bank details, she was made to break her fixed deposits and keep funds in her accounts

A 72-year-old retired advocate in Noida was duped to the tune of ₹3.29 crore after being allegedly put under digital arrest for nine days (June 16 to 24) by cyber criminals, police said on Wednesday, adding that a case has been registered at the Cybercrime Branch police station.

The woman was told that her Aadhaar number was used in four different bank accounts and the money was being used for gambling, blackmailing, illegal purchases of weapons. (Representational image)

Police said the victim woman, a Sector 47 resident, stated in her complaint that on June 10 morning, she got a call on landline number, with the caller informing serious charges were registered against her. “She was told that her Aadhaar number was used in four different bank accounts and the money was being used for gambling, blackmailing, illegal purchases of weapons, etc.,” said an officer, requesting anonymity.

“The frauds gave the victim an unidentified mobile number to obtain a no-objection certificate. On contacting that number, she started receiving multiple phone calls from people impersonating police officers,” the officer added.

As the woman shared her bank details, she was made to break her fixed deposits and keep funds in her accounts, the FIR said.

“The victim, who resides alone, transferred ₹3.29 crore in five transactions via RTGS after visiting the bank. She realised she had been duped after sharing the incident with her daughter,” said Cybercrime Branch station house officer Ranjeet Singh.

On her complaint, a case of cheating, cheating by personation under the BNS, and the IT Act was registered, and efforts are on to recover her money.