Retired teacher duped of Rs 25 lakh in digital arrest scam

Hyderabad: A 68-year-old retired teacher from Madhapur was duped of 24.9 lakh by callers posing as UIDAI and Mumbai Cyber Crime officials in a digital arrest case. On her complaint, a case was registered by the Cyberabad Cyber Crime police.Police said the victim received an anonymous call on Jan 31 from a fraudster identifying himself as UIDAI official Rahul Kumar, who claimed Mumbai high court had issued a warrant against her in connection with alleged drug-trafficking. After collecting the victim's details, the caller transferred her line to several accomplices, each introducing themselves as Mumbai cyber crime investigators.During multiple conversations held between Jan 31 and Feb 4, the gang convinced the victim that 97,000 was already illicitly withdrawn from a savings account linked to her Aadhaar and converted into black money. Claiming they had to check the balance in her account and classify it as white money and clear her name, the impostors demanded that she move the entire balance in her account into two current accounts.Frightened by threats of a mandatory six-month prison term and heavy fines if she disclosed the matter to others, the victim transferred 24.9 lakh from her account between Jan 31 and Feb 4 to different bank accounts provided by the accused. After the transfers, the accused cut off communication with the victim. After waiting for three days for a response, the victim approached police on Feb 7.Based on her complaint, a case was registered under relavant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. Police urged people to remain cautious of unsolicited calls from law enforcement officials demanding personal or financial details. Victims were advised to contact the Cyber Crime helpline ‘1930' immediately upon suspecting fraudulent activity.