Three held for 24 L ‘digital arrest’ scam

Chennai: Three men from Karnataka were arrested by Chennai police for duping a 70-year-old woman of 24 lakh through a fake ‘digital arrest'carried out over a WhatsApp video call.

The accused posed as police and CBI officers, claiming that the victim's Aadhaar card was linked to a human-trafficking case and directed her to transfer money for an ‘investigation', police said.


The suspects were identified as Tejas, 20, Pranav, 20, and Mohammed Sameer, 21, all residents of Mysuru. A cybercrime team traced the suspects using phone records and bank transactions and arrested them in Mysuru on Monday. They were brought to Chennai on Tuesday and remanded in judicial custody.

Police said the victim, Chitralekha of Tondiarpet, received a video call on Sept 22 from a man claiming to be Madhankumar from the Gandhinagar police station.

He showed fabricated Aadhaar details and a fake court order, warning that her mobile number would be blocked.

She was later contacted by another caller posing as a CBI officer, who told her not to speak to anyone until the probe was completed and to transfer the money to designated accounts via RTGS (real-time gross settlement, a system to transfer high-value funds instantly).

Believing the callers, she transferred 24 lakh from her husband's bank account. She later realized she had been cheated.

Police said they seized three mobile phones and bank documents used in the transactions. Investigation is underway to identify others involved in the network. Police said the trio acted as handlers, facilitating money movement through multiple bank accounts for larger cybercrime syndicates.

Police urge the public not to fall victim to cyber scams such as ‘digital arrest' and advised citizens to register their complaints through the helpline 1930 or web portal www.cybercrime.gov.in.

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