HYDERABAD: Two elderly residents of the city were duped of more than Rs 1.14 crore after cyber fraudsters, posing as law enforcement officials, trapped them in “digital arrest” scams.
In the first case, an 81-year-old retired employee lost Rs 60.2 lakh after fraudsters falsely accused him of links with terrorist organisations.
On December 3, he received a call from a man identifying himself as Raj Sharma from the “Data Protection Board of India”, who claimed the victim’s credentials were linked to the Popular Front of India and international terror groups, including ISIS.
The call was then transferred to another person posing as a Mumbai police officer. During a video call, two men appeared in police uniforms and told him the Supreme Court had issued an arrest warrant in his name. They warned him not to reveal the matter, citing national security.
They questioned him about his assets and bank details, and instructed him to transfer his funds to RBI accounts for “verification”. Believing their claims, he transferred `60,20,200 from bank accounts, FDs and mutual funds. When the funds were not returned, he realised he had been cheated and lodged a complaint.
66-year-old ‘accused’ of human trafficking
In another incident, a 66-year-old retired director from the veterinary department lost Rs 54.02 lakh. On December 2, he received a call from someone claiming to be from Mumbai CBI.
The caller alleged his Aadhaar details were used to open multiple bank accounts tied to human trafficking, overseas job fraud and money laundering.
The fraudsters told him his financial details were needed for submission before the Supreme Court and instructed him to close his FDRs and transfer both savings and deposit amounts to them. He complied, transferring `54.02 lakh. Growing suspicious later, he consulted his friend, retired DIG M Kantha Rao, who confirmed the call was fake. He then filed a complaint with the Cyberabad cybercrime police.
Both cases are under investigation.