Noida family duped of ₹1.1 cr in ‘digital arrest’ scam

Noida: A family of five in Noida was kept under ‘digital arrest’ by cyber criminals impersonating top police officials and duped them of nearly Rs 1 crore 10 lakh.

According to police officials, Chandrabhan Paliwal (72), a retired LIC manager and resident of Sector-19, alleged that on February 1, he received call from an unknown number and the caller insisted him to contact Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) promptly, threatening his SIM would be deactivated within two hours if he failed to comply.

Subsequently, he was informed that his case was with the Mumbai Cyber Crime Branch. Shortly after, someone claiming to be IPS Rajiv Kumar called from Mumbai’s Colaba Police Station.

During the video call, the Mumbai Police logo was displayed. The purported IPS informed Chandrabhan about 24 cases registered against him at various locations. The impersonator accused him of extorting money through threats and alleged a CBI money laundering case against him. The fraudster claimed a bank account had been opened in Chandrabhan’s name at Canara Bank Mumbai.

The scammers alleged that funds from money laundering were transferred through this account. They claimed the SIM card used for extortion was registered under Chandrabhan’s name. Frightened, he complied when they mentioned an arrest warrant against him and demanded Aadhar verification via camera.

Fraudsters obtained the victim’s banking details and posed as CBI officials, falsely linking his Aadhar card to money laundering.

They monitored the family via Skype and coerced them into transferring Rs 1 crore 10 lakh. When pressured for more, bank officials urged him to alert police. A probe is underway, said Noida Cyber Crime DCP Preeti Yadav.