In a shocking case of cybercrime, an 80-year-old retired personnel officer from Pune was swindled out of a staggering Rs 1 crore by fraudsters who used the sinister tactic of a 'digital arrest' and fabricated a money laundering case to terrorise him.
The Sinister Video Call and False Allegations
The ordeal for the Kasba Peth resident began on November 21 when he received a video call from an unknown number. The caller, posing as a police inspector from Nashik, inquired if the senior citizen held an account with a specific public sector bank. Upon denial, the imposter claimed that a gang of cybercriminals had opened a bank account in his name and conducted transactions worth Rs 2 crore through it, even sharing a forged bank statement as proof.
Later the same day, the fraudster contacted the victim again via video call, declaring that his name was on a list of suspects in a serious money laundering case. The caller issued a stern warning, instructing the elderly man not to leave his home or discuss the matter with anyone, effectively placing him under a state of digital house arrest.
Escalation of Fear and the Bogus Court Notice
The psychological manipulation intensified on November 22. A person claiming to be a 'senior officer' informed the victim that an arrest order had been issued against him, threatening a jail term of 90 to 180 days. To make the story more believable, the scammer falsely linked the case to the arrest of members of the Popular Front of India (PFI), alleging they had opened the bank account in the retired officer's name for laundering money.
The fraud reached a new level on November 25 when the victim received a completely fake court notice issued in his name. Seizing the moment, the criminals then asked about his bank balance. They deceitfully advised him that to clear his name, he needed to deposit his money with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), with a false promise of returning the funds within three days.
The Financial Drain and Police Investigation
Trapped in a web of fear, the retired officer complied. Between November 28 and December 4, he transferred a total of Rs 1 crore to various bank account numbers provided by the impersonators. It was only after December 7, when the promised refund never materialised and the scammer's phone became unreachable, that the victim realised he had been duped. He subsequently approached the Pune cyber police to file a complaint.
Preliminary police investigations have traced the siphoned money to bank accounts located in Vadodara (Gujarat), Nellore (Andhra Pradesh), and Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu). This case highlights a dangerous new trend of 'digital arrest' scams where criminals use intimidation and authority impersonation to exploit and rob their victims, particularly targeting vulnerable senior citizens.
