A shocking new facet of cybercrime has come to light in Hyderabad, where a retired private sector employee of 71 years fell victim to a sophisticated digital arrest scam that drained his finances by almost ₹2 crores. The operation was carefully organized, starting with a simple phone call that seemed to be from an official source.
The victim, whose name is not being disclosed for confidentiality, was first informed by the fraudster pretending to represent a leading courier service that an illegal parcel had been seized under his name.
The police also involved the victim immediately, and the victim was connected to a second caller impersonating a police officer from Mumbai, who intimidated the victim with legal action and imprisonment.
The elderly man was then virtually arrested and kept in a video conference room for the next few days, wherein he was told to transfer his entire amount as payment for “security deposit” or “fine” to get rid of the arrest and clean his name.
Close to ₹2 crore is the huge amount mentioned, indicating how these scams are very much a predator’s game targeting senior citizens who are not very much aware of such frauds.
Psychological Coercion and Financial Devastation
The digital arrest scam was mostly based on psychological coercion, fear and urgency being the main guns used by the fraudsters in this particular instance. In this manner, they scared the victim by showing the fake documents that included a fake FIR and court summons which were shown during the video call.
The scammers capitalized on the victim’s fears of the law and of being publicly humiliated. The amount that was defrauded was precisely ₹1.98 crore, which was transferred in several installments over a few days to signify the relentless pressure that the perpetrators had put on the victim.
The elderly man was told that he would be disconnected from the video call if he spoke to any family member which ensured his total isolation.
Protecting Seniors from Online Fraud
This event acts as a serious warning regarding the changing methods of cybercriminals. It also brings to light the obvious requirement for the elderly to be informed through active public awareness campaigns.
The major points are that real police never do an investigation or arrest over a video call alone nor do they ask for money deposits or fees to ‘clear’ someone’s name. People should be educated to immediately hang up any phone call that threatens arrest and at the same time ask for money or such bank details as secrets.
A recent media graduate, Bhumi Vashisht is currently making a significant contribution as a committed content writer. She brings new ideas to the media sector and is an expert at creating strategic content and captivating tales, having working in the field from past four months.
