Cyber Criminals kept a senior citizen couple from Goregaon hostage in a ‘digital arrest’ for 10 days, stealing off INR 1.33 crore, before the woman stumbled onto a newspaper item about a similar scam and alerted the police.
The cybercriminals separated the couple from family and neighbours under false charges of involvement in a INR 500 crore money laundering and terrorism case. The theft cost the couple, who were both retired workers at a major government bank, all of their wealth. The woman had chosen to retire voluntarily (VRS).
The couple was tricked by the crooks, who took INR 1.33 crore from the woman's savings banks during the ten days of digital detention. When the con artists forced her to withdraw INR 35 lakh fixed deposit (FD) on November 19, saying it was required till the so-called investigation was over, the scene became more heated. She was urged to return after the state elections because of a staffing shortage when she went to her bank to withdraw the FD. When she got home, she became suspicious after reading a story in the media about similar digital arrest situations. She acted quickly, contacting the Mumbai Police North Cyber Cell and the 1930 cyber crime helpline.
The woman got counselling from the Cyber Cell team and Senior PI Suvarna Shinde. The scam that targeted the senior citizen started in the first week of November, according to the Mumbai Crime Branch's North Cyber Cell. A caller claiming to be from RBI customer service called her from an unidentified number. The caller deceitfully told her that an investigation had been launched against her and that her bank account and associated mobile number were involved in a bank fraud case worth INR 500 crore. The claim caused the woman to panic, according to officials. As soon as cybercriminals notice that someone is in a panic, they take advantage of it, a Cyber Cell officer stated.
The complainant claims that the scammer linked her to another scammer posing as a Hyderabad police officer after sending her fictitious bank notices accusing her of money laundering. Until the investigation was finished, the officer demanded that she participate in video chats and be present at all times.
The woman said to authorities that she was frequently questioned by scammers over an SBI credit card that she never had and a Canara Bank fraud. The scammers told her to move her money to the "safe bank accounts" they offered because they could not believe her claims, even though she denied them repeatedly. The woman was so terrified that she obeyed and started to move her savings.
The woman was essentially placed under digital arrest from November 11 until November 19. She had to stay on video calls even while she was asleep. When the woman told her husband, he suggested that she not include their kids.
Only 16 of the approximately 102 digital arrest instances that have been recorded as of October 2024 have been resolved, according to official data from the Mumbai Cyber Cell. These cases involve more than INR 90 crore in total. Interestingly, this information only applies to the Cyber Cell, which deals with fraud cases involving sums greater than INR 10 lakh. Local police investigate cases involving smaller amounts independently and keep their own records.
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