Two people lose ₹1 crore to ‘digital arrest’ scams; fraudsters impersonate Mumbai Police
Two individuals have fallen victim to separate 'digital arrest' cyber frauds, collectively losing nearly ₹1 crore, after fraudsters posed as Mumbai Police officers and threatened them with fabricated criminal cases. The incidents were reported at the Whitefield Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) Police Station on Saturday.
In the first case, a 62-year-old complainant stated that on July 9, he received calls from individuals claiming to be Mumbai Police officials, who falsely alleged that his Aadhaar details were used in a terror funding and money laundering case. The fraudsters later made a WhatsApp video call, introducing themselves as Anil and Vishwas from the Mumbai Cyber Crime Police. They threatened the victim with 'digital arrest' and instructed him to transfer money for bank account verification as part of the purported investigation. Believing the claims, the complainant transferred ₹39.40 lakh. When he later attempted to contact them, the calls went unanswered, prompting him to approach the police.
Based on the complaint, the Whitefield CEN police have registered an FIR under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act and Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigation is under way.
In another incident, a 52-year-old woman was allegedly cheated of ₹60 lakh in a similar scam. According to the complaint, she received a call from a man identifying himself as Rahul Kulkarni, claiming to be a Mumbai Police officer. The caller falsely alleged that several online criminal cases had been registered in her name, that her mobile number was being used to send illegal text messages, and that she was involved in a money laundering case. The fraudster threatened her with 'digital arrest' and convinced her that transferring money was necessary for bank account verification, assuring her that the amount would be refunded after verification. Acting on the instructions, she transferred ₹60 lakh. The fraudsters subsequently became unreachable.
The police have once again advised the public that no law enforcement agency conducts investigations or 'digital arrests' through phone or video calls, or asks citizens to transfer money for verification purposes. Citizens are urged to immediately disconnect such calls and report them to the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or the cybercrime reporting portal.
