Pune woman, 81, loses Rs 82.30 lakh to cyber fraudsters in 'digital arrest' scam

An elderly woman from Viman Nagar in Pune was trapped by cyber fraudsters, who threatened her with arrest and had her send a total of Rs 82.30 lakh to their accounts. A case has been registered against unknown accused at the Pune cyber police station, on the woman's own complaint. The matter came to light in November. The woman's age is given as 81 in one place and 82 in another.

In the first week of August, the woman received a WhatsApp video call. The caller claimed to be a police inspector with the Mumbai Crime Branch. He wore a police uniform, and a picture bearing the Maharashtra Police emblem was visible behind him. He said the Supreme Court had issued a non-bailable warrant against her. She was threatened that a police vehicle would arrive at her housing society and take her straight to jail in handcuffs. The woman was badly frightened.

The fraudsters then alleged that obscene videos and photographs had been circulated on social media using her Aadhaar card details and mobile number. They also said a bank account had been opened with her Aadhaar card, through which transactions of Rs 2.5 crore linked to an accused's money laundering case had taken place. They also concocted a false story that these transactions were linked to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

The woman was told that, in view of her age, she would be saved from arrest but would have to cooperate with the investigation. She was also told that the matter was a serious one connected with the Supreme Court and she should tell no one. Out of fear of arrest, she kept doing as the fraudsters told her.

The fraudsters took details of her bank accounts. In the name of the investigation, she was made to break her fixed deposits and put the money in her savings account. She deposited Rs 67.84 lakh in the savings account after breaking the deposits. She was then told to send Rs 68.50 lakh by RTGS to a bank account in the name of a trading firm in Gujarat, which, she was told, was being used for the investigation.

The fraudsters also had her send photographs of all the gold ornaments she was wearing and those kept at home. She sent the photographs on August 7. The next day she was told to pledge the gold and take a loan. She took a loan of Rs 13.80 lakh against the gold. The fraudsters said this amount too had to be deposited in a government account for verification, and got it transferred to an account under their control. In two transactions, the woman was thus cheated of Rs 82.30 lakh.

On November 9, messages arrived on her mobile phone saying her demat account was being deactivated. She contacted her son. When he checked her phone and WhatsApp conversations, the fraud came to light. He immediately lodged a complaint on the national cyber crime helpline, 1930. The woman then approached the Pune city cyber police.

Police have booked unknown persons as well as the holders and operators of the bank accounts into which the money went. The case is registered under sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to cheating by impersonation, cheating and intimidation. Further investigation is under way.

Fraud in the name of "digital arrest" has not stopped despite continued awareness drives by the government and police. Cyber fraudsters pose as officers of the police, the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) or the Reserve Bank. They put mental pressure on people by threatening arrest and legal action, and then have money transferred out of their bank accounts in the name of an investigation. The money is first deposited in fake accounts or accounts in other people's names (mule accounts) and is passed on through several accounts from there. In some cases, investigations show the money is also routed through cryptocurrency to international cyber crime networks.