A couple in Surat was subjected to a five-day ‘digital arrest’ scam, losing ₹13 lakh after fraudsters impersonated police and regulatory officials, highlighting the rising threat of sophisticated digital scams in India.
A Surat man and his wife were held under what police described as a “digital arrest” for five days and cheated out of ₹13 lakh after fraudsters posed as senior law enforcement and regulatory officials, according to Surat cyber crime police and local reports.
Police said the accused contacted the couple by phone and video calls, falsely claiming a SIM card and bank account had been opened in the man’s name and used for large transactions. The fraudsters allegedly backed up the threat with forged identity cards and fake letters carrying the names of the Mumbai Police, Maharashtra Police, the CBI, the RBI and even the Supreme Court, while claiming the case involved alleged money laundering linked to Naresh Goyal.
The victim was warned that an arrest warrant had been issued and was told he and his wife would be arrested unless they cooperated. Investigators said the couple was then pressured to transfer money for “verification”, eventually sending ₹13 lakh to multiple accounts. The Times of India reported that the victim later became suspicious and approached police, leading to a case being registered.
Surat cyber crime police said the arrested man, Afaq Alam Ansari, was traced to Delhi after a technical investigation. They said he had created a firm in his own name and opened a current account with Yes Bank before allegedly passing control of it to another suspect in return for a ₹3 lakh commission. Police said transactions of more than ₹1.05 crore passed through the account in a little over a month, while the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal showed three linked complaints from different states involving alleged fraud of more than ₹2.43 crore. Officials again urged people not to share banking or personal details with callers claiming to be police or government officers, and said authorities do not conduct interrogations through video apps or demand payments as fines.
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