HYDERABAD: An 80-year-old retired government employee was duped of Rs 38 lakh in a ‘digital arrest’ fraud where the accused posed as CBI officials.
According to the victim’s complaint to Rachakonda Cybercrimes, on July 24, he received a call from a man identifying himself as Sandeep Rao from the Department of Telecommunications. The call was transferred to another person claiming to be Daya Nayak, posing as a police officer and later a CBI officer.
The impersonators alleged that his Aadhaar details had been misused by a criminal named Sadakat Khan, arrested for human trafficking and cybercrimes in Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Philippines. They sent forged documents with logos of the Supreme Court of India, Delhi Police, CBI, and Karnataka Police, claiming that an arrest warrant was being prepared against him.
Under the pretext of verifying his bank accounts for illegal transactions, they instructed him to transfer money to an account purportedly for “assessment by the Registrar of the Supreme Court” and convinced him that he would give a statement before a Supreme Court judge via video call. Threatened with arrest, job loss, and legal consequences, the victim revealed his bank balances and transferred Rs 38 lakh.
Based on the complaint, a case has been registered.