Retired schoolteacher’s life savings of Rs 1.82cr wiped out in ‘digital arrest’ fraud

Vadodara: A 65-year-old retired schoolteacher endured a harrowing two-week ordeal after being digitally held captive by cyber fraudsters, during which she was duped of Rs 1.82 crore — her entire life savings and those of her father.The woman, a resident of Sardar Bhavan Lane, lodged a complaint at the cybercrime police station on Thursday after her brother alerted her to the fraud.According to case details, the woman received a call on Dec 4 from fraudsters who claimed her Aadhaar card had been used to obtain another SIM card, against which 39 criminal cases had allegedly been registered. The caller then connected her to another man who claimed to be a police officer from Mumbai's Colaba police station.She later received a video call from the conman, who was dressed in a police uniform. He asked her to share her Aadhaar card on WhatsApp and sent her a fake identity card. The fraudster also forwarded images of a debit card, a bank statement and a purported Supreme Court notice in her name, warning her not to disclose the matter as it involved national security.The caller told her she was under "house arrest" and instructed her to inform him every time she stepped out and returned home. He remained in constant contact for three days and later claimed the SIM card issued in her name was used in a terror-related fraud worth Rs 243 crore.The woman was asked to share details of her fixed deposits, mutual funds and investments, and was told to transfer all funds to designated bank accounts, from where they would supposedly be routed to the RBI. She was assured the money would be returned but was threatened that her sister in the US and her brothers would face investigation if she spoke to anyone.She transferred over Rs 1.82 crore in instalments. "A bank staffer flagged the transactions and advised her to verify the recipient accounts. She then informed her brother, who realised she had been cheated," a cybercrime police official said.