‘Digital arrest’: Ahmedabad man in Australia loses s 49 lakh

Ahmedabad: A 44-year-old man from Ahmedabad, settled in Australia for two decades, fell victim to a sophisticated "digital arrest" scam, with fraudsters siphoning off nearly Rs 49 lakh from his bank accounts in India and Australia.A complaint in the case was filed on Tuesday with the city cybercrime police by his 74-year-old father, Madan Patel, a resident of Naranpura.
According to the complaint, Patel's younger son, Pavan, 44, who works and lives in Sydney, was targeted by cyber fraudsters posing as officials from the Indian high commission, Mumbai police, the CBI, and the RBI. The ordeal began on Aug 26, 2025, when Pavan received a phone call from an Australian number. The caller, introducing herself as "Shruti Agarwal" from the Indian high commission in Canberra, claimed that an arrest warrant had been issued against him in Mumbai in connection with money laundering and cryptocurrency transactions. Soon after, Pavan was connected via WhatsApp video calls to men posing as Mumbai crime branch officers. He was told that multiple sim cards were taken in his name and used for illegal transactions. The fraudsters threatened immediate arrest, warned him not to disconnect calls, and placed him under what they termed "digital arrest". They directed him to remain on camera round the clock and not speak to family members. Over the next several days, the scammers escalated the pressure, claiming that the case was handed over to the CBI and the RBI. They persuaded Pavan to share his laptop and mobile IP addresses, acquire new phone connections, and join WhatsApp groups named after police headquarters. He was later instructed to open multiple crypto wallets and transfer funds for "verification". Believing the claims, Pavan transferred 25,000 Australian dollars, equivalent to about Rs 14.6 lakh, from his accounts in Australian banks. Additionally, about Rs 34 lakh was siphoned off from his account in a bank in Naranpura. The promised "verification" and refund never came. Finally sensing fraud, Pavan lodged a complaint with the Australian Cyber Security Centre, which issued a complaint number. In India, his father approached the cybercrime helpline and later filed a complaint with the city cybercrime police.