E-Paper
Senior citizen duped of ₹2.14 crore in ‘digital arrest’ fraud
The con occurred between October 29 and November 13 at the victim’s (name withheld to protect identity) flat in Jagdish Kunj, Nigdi Pradhikaran
A 70-year-old resident of Nigdi Pradhikaran was cheated of ₹2.14 crore in yet another case of ‘digital arrest’ cyber fraud, the police said.
The con occurred between October 29 and November 13 at the victim’s (name withheld to protect identity) flat in Jagdish Kunj, Nigdi Pradhikaran. According to officials, the victim received a phone call from individuals posing as police officers. They said that 20 complaints had been received against the SIM card being used by the victim’s wife. The callers had got information regarding the bank accounts of the couple and even claimed that money from a banned organisation was received in the bank account used by the victim’s wife. Later, the cheats claimed that the victim’s wife was involved in a money laundering case and that she was being investigated for serious offences. The swindlers threatened the senior citizen with the ‘digital arrest’ of his wife and coerced him into transferring money to multiple accounts under the pretext of verifying his credentials and avoiding legal action. The police said that terrified by the threats, the victim broke his fixed deposits (FDs) and transferred ₹21,470,358 to various bank accounts provided by the accused. Upon realising that he had been cheated, the elderly man approached the police and filed a complaint on November 17.
Ravikiran Nale, senior police inspector at the cyber cell, Pimpri-Chinchwad, said, “To gain the confidence of the victim, the accused sent a pdf file naming senior police officers and threatened him with ‘digital arrest’ of his wife”. A case has been filed at the cyber police station, Pimpri-Chinchwad, under sections 205, 308(1), 316(2), 318(4), 319(2), 336(3) and 3(5) of the BNS and sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act and further investigation is underway.
