3 nabbed in digital arrest fraud

Three people were arrested in the case of digital arrest by posing as officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to coerce victims into transferring funds here, the police said on Friday. The police also recovered Rs 4 lakh.

A case was registered and Cyber Police Kashmir initiated a swift investigation.

'Digital arrest' is a new cyber fraud, where the accused pose as law enforcement agency officials, like CBI or customs officials, and threatens people of arrest by making video calls in the name of fake international parcels of banned drugs, they said.

The accused used psychological manipulation to defraud of senior citizen of Rs 21 lakh.

The scammers accused the victim of being involved in a money laundering scam of Rs 6.8 crores and issued fabricated arrest warrants and penalties to intimidate him, the police said.

The accused declared their conversations with the victim a "national secret" and instructed him to lock his house, avoid communication with others and falsely assured him of a refund within hours.

Under pressure, the victim prematurely closed his fixed deposits and transferred ₹21 lakh into a fraudulent HDFC Bank account, the police said.

"Leveraging advanced technical tools, the police identified the culprits and dispatched teams to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Punjab. The operation led to the arrests of Gaurav Kumar from Uttar Pradesh, Gurpreet Singh and Ujjawal Chauhan from Punjab," the police said.

The police seized four mobile phones, a MacBook, and other incriminating materials. An amount of Rs 4.13 lakh has been released into the account of the complainant, the police said.

The accused persons face multiple charges, including fraud, conspiracy and coercion.

“Further investigation is ongoing to uncover other conspirators and dismantle the larger network behind this scam, the police said.

SP Cyber Cell Iftikhar Talib said this is the first reported case of digital arrest in Kashmir.

Cyber Police Kashmir Zone, meanwhile, have advised citizens to exercise extreme caution when sharing sensitive financial information.