Nerul professor falls victim to ₹1.81 crore ‘digital arrest’ fraud

A 58-year-old professor lost ₹1.81 crore in a digital arrest scam, tricked by fraudsters posing as income tax officials over 15 days.

NAVI MUMBAI: A 58-year-old professor from a reputed medical college in Nerul fell victim to a ‘digital arrest’ fraud, losing ₹1.81 crore over a period of 15 days. The fraudsters tricked him into believing that they were from the income tax department and had information that a firm in his name in Delhi had a tax liability of ₹8 lakh.

Nerul professor falls victim to ₹1.81 crore ‘digital arrest’ fraud

According to the cyber police, the fraud took place between 3pm of January 14 and 10am of February 15. A case was registered on February 17 under sections 318(4) and 319(2) (cheating), 204 (impersonating a public servant), 336(3) (forgery), and 3(5) (common intention crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.

As per the complaint, the victim was contacted by a man, claiming to be an Income Tax officer, who said that a company registered under the victim’s name in Delhi had ₹8 lakh as outstanding tax liability. “When the victim denied having any such company, the scamsters stated that a written complaint will have to be given in Delhi,” said a police officer investigating the case.

Upon expressing inability to travel to Delhi, the victim was subjected to a digital arrest. “A supposed senior officer connected with him via a video call. From here on, the victim was made to believe that his details were found in a money laundering case and was instructed to submit bank statements and investment-related documents for investigation purposes,” the police officer said.

Fake letterheads of the Supreme Court, CBI and ED were reportedly used to convince the victim of the authenticity of the investigation. He was then instructed to transfer money to a bank account with the assurance that it will be returned after the investigation. In all, ₹1,81,72,667 was transferred by the victim. However, it did not end here. The scamsters demanded an additional ₹22 lakh as a security deposit.

Having exhausted all his savings, on February 16, the victim turned to his relatives for help. When he told them about his harrowing ordeal, they suspected it was a scam and told him to approach the cyber police. “The matter is under investigation and efforts are on to retrieve the amount” said senior inspector Gajanan Kadam from the Cyber Crime department.