Woman loses Rs 15 lakh to ‘digital arrest’ fraud

In yet another case of “digital arrest”, a 64-year-old woman has been duped of Rs 15 lakh by fraudsters posing as officers of the Maharashtra police and CBI.

Kawaljit Kaur Gill, a resident of Sector 37, received a call from a woman on October 27. The caller told her that a SIM card issued in her name was being used in Mumbai. Immediately after the call, the victim received a WhatsApp video call.

The caller, wearing a police uniform, informed her that a bank account in her name was allegedly used in money-laundering transactions worth Rs 650 crore. He said some amount had been moved through her account, following which investigations had been initiated by the CBI.

Gill said she was told not to disconnect the call and reveal the matter to anyone, or else those with whom she would share this information might get harmed. “They took information about the entire family and my bank accounts by threatening me with arrest. I was asked to lock myself in a room and stay on the video call, as I was under digital arrest,” she said.

The fraudsters asked the woman to transfer money to a particular account number for “investigation” purposes and promise her that it would be returned later.

The victim went to the bank the next morning and transferred Rs 15 lakh to a bank account number given by the fraudsters.

Her husband Kulwinder Singh Gill, who was out of station, returned on October 28 and noticed suspicious behaviour of his wife. “I questioned her but she didn’t tell me anything,” said Gill.

On October 30, the fraudsters again called the victim and asked her for more money to arrange for her bail. “I came to know about the entire incident and realised that this is a scam to which my wife has fallen prey,” Gill added. The couple immediately approached the cybercrime police station and submitted a complaint.

In October, Hari Nath, a resident of Dadu Majra, was duped of Rs 51 lakh in a similar fraud.