A man has been arrested from Gujarat for allegedly receiving a major portion of Rs 3.71 crore fraudulently taken from a 68-year-old woman in Mumbai through a so-called `digital arrest` scam, a police official said on Monday, reported the PTI.
According to the police, the cyber criminals impersonated personnel from the Colaba police station in south Mumbai, officials from central agencies, and even conducted a fake online court hearing. During the video call, one of the accused identified himself as `Justice Chandrachud`, as per the PTI.
Victim told she was under digital arrest
According to the PTI, the victim, a resident of Andheri West, was told she was under `digital arrest` in connection with a money laundering case. She was kept under constant surveillance by the fraudsters between August 18 and October 13, the official said.
The woman first received a call on August 18 from a person claiming to be from Colaba police station, who alleged that her bank account had been used for laundering money. She was warned not to disclose the matter to anyone and was asked to share her bank details, on the pretext that the case was being transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the PTI reported.
One of the accused, posing as an officer named S K Jaiswal, even made the woman write a two-to-three-page essay about her life. He later told her he was satisfied with her explanation and would ensure she got bail.
Arranged video call
The fraudsters then arranged a video call in which the victim was presented before a person claiming to be Justice Chandrachud. She was asked to submit details of her investments for verification, following which she transferred Rs 3.75 crore to multiple bank accounts over nearly two months.
When the calls suddenly stopped, the woman realised she had been cheated and approached the West Region Cyber Police Station. A case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.
The investigation revealed that the money had been routed through several mule accounts, including one traced to Surat in Gujarat. A mule account is used to receive or transfer illegally obtained money, often on behalf of criminals.
Cyber police team arrested a man from Surat
A cyber police team arrested a man from Surat last week who had opened a current account in the name of a fake cloth trading company. He allegedly allowed cyber fraudsters to use the account to park their funds.
For allowing Rs 1.71 crore to be routed through his account, the accused reportedly received a commission of Rs 6.40 lakh. He has disclosed the identities of two alleged masterminds of the racket, both of whom are currently abroad. One of them is said to run an immigration and visa services business.
Efforts are underway to trace and arrest all those involved in the scam, the official added.
Digital arrest scams emerging
Digital arrest scams are an emerging form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officers or court officials to intimidate victims through phone and video calls, forcing them to transfer large sums of money.
On December 1, the Supreme Court directed the CBI to conduct a nationwide investigation into digital arrest cases and asked all states to grant consent under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act for such probes.
(with PTI inputs)
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