A doctor in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, has been defrauded in a digital arrest scam, losing a staggering ₹19 crore. Cybercriminals held her under a digital arrest for three months. The scam began when the doctor received a call on March 15, alleging that objectionable content was found on her mobile. The callers, posing as law enforcement officials including a sub-inspector and a government lawyer, threatened her with disconnection of her phone and involvement in a money laundering case. The doctor was coerced into transferring her life savings across 35 different bank accounts. Furthermore, the criminals used her credentials to take a loan against her gold jewelry, transferring that money as well. The doctor was also forced to share her activities via video call and reveal her location. After the calls suddenly stopped, she realized something was wrong and informed her relatives, but the damage was already done. Acting on a complaint filed on July 16, the Gujarat CID’s cyber crime unit initiated an investigation. Authorities believe this could be one of the largest digital arrest fraud cases in India, involving a single victim.
During the investigation, police identified and arrested a suspect in Surat, whose bank account had received ₹1 crore of the stolen funds. Interrogation of the suspect is underway to identify the network and other members involved. Digital arrest scams involve fraudsters posing as law enforcement officials, such as CBI, police, cyber cell, or ED officers, to scare and deceive people.
