A 64-year-old Juhu resident falls victim to a sophisticated digital arrest scam claiming a fake terror investigation, highlighting a rising trend targeting vulnerable elderly individuals in India.
A retired bank manager from Juhu in Mumbai has allegedly been cheated out of ₹3.84 crore in a so-called digital arrest scam that used a fake terror-funding investigation to keep him isolated for 10 days, according to reports in the Free Press Journal and The Times of India.
The fraud began on 7 August, when a caller claiming to be an Anti-Terrorist Squad sub-inspector told the 64-year-old that a SIM card linked to his Aadhaar details had been used illegally. Another impersonator, posing as an ATS officer in Lucknow, then alleged that the victim’s documents had been used to open an account in Jammu and Kashmir that received ₹7 crore for terrorist activity, the reports said.
To make the story appear genuine, the scammers sent what they said was an RBI letter and claimed the Supreme Court had issued an arrest warrant. They allegedly pressured the man to remain in contact with them, cut him off from his family and warned that relatives could also face arrest, according to the reports.
Between 7 and 17 August, the victim transferred the money in stages. Police have since frozen about ₹2 crore spread across 150 bank accounts and are trying to trace the rest, with The Times of India reporting that some of the accounts were mule accounts used to move illicit funds.
The case adds to a growing list of digital arrest frauds targeting older people, including other recent cases reported in Mumbai, Pune, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. In those cases, fraudsters posed as police, tax officials, telecom regulators and even judges, using video calls, fake case files and threats of prison to force victims into making large transfers.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
