HYDERABAD: The Cyberabad Cybercrime team has busted an inter-state ‘digital arrest scam’ in Hyderabad, where an 82-year-old retired engineer was made to part with Rs 1.38 crore.
According to the victim’s complaint lodged in September 2024, the elderly man received a call from a fraudster posing as an SBI representative.
The caller told him that an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) case had been filed against him. The victim was then connected to a fake Mumbai Cyber Crime officer via WhatsApp.
The impersonator manipulated the victim into sharing his Aadhaar details and falsely accused him of involvement in money laundering. Under duress, the victim transferred Rs 1,38,60,000 to multiple bank accounts linked to the fraudsters.
The Cyberabad Cybercrime team traced the funds to various bank accounts associated with the accused. Investigations revealed that 46-year-old Sankar Ganesh from Tamil Nadu had supplied bank account details to the fraudsters in exchange for a 10 percent commission. His associate, 45-year-old Elanchezhiyan Sathiyavel, collected and provided these accounts to other scammers.
The scam was orchestrated by individuals identified as Sachin, Muthukumar, and Saleem, who posed as law enforcement officers to deceive victims into transferring large sums of money.
On February 18, Cybercrime police arrested Sankar Ganesh Adaikkalam in Tiruchirapalli and Elanchezhiyan Sathiyavel in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu. A case has been registered, and the police are searching for the remaining accused.