A Noida-based family became a victim of the newly emerging cybercrime method ‘digital arrest’ which resulted in a loss of Rs 1 crore within five days. The fraudsters conducted the scam by pretending to work as government officials to fool the family into thinking they were being investigated. Police officials confirmed the case on Monday highlighting the sharply rising rate of this cyber attack.
How the crime took place
The victim Chandrabhan Paliwal received a phone call from an unknown number on February 1. The caller pretended to work for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and demanded Paliwal to follow their instructions or face immediate SIM card blockage. Later Paliwal received a video call from an imposter posing as an IPS officer who claimed to work at ‘Kolava Police Station’ in Mumbai. Paliwal received a call stating that 24 criminal cases had been filed against him on charges of extorting money. The imposter claimed that a money laundering investigation against Paliwal by the CBI was underway.
Whole family falls into trap
During the escalation of the scam, Paliwal’s wife and daughter also fell prey to the same fraudulent criminals. The victims received threatening video calls with orders to pay a substantial amount of money. Throughout five consecutive days the family gave up Rs 1.10 crore to criminals.
The scam involved a series of fake video calls, with the fraudsters using the fear of arrest to manipulate the victims. The family believed they were genuinely under investigation, which led them to make the payments. However, after the incident, Paliwal reported the matter to the police, who have now launched an investigation.
Police advises citizens to be cautious of such crimes
Preeti Yadav, the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Cyber Crime stated that a case has been registered while the police are actively working to track down the criminals responsible for this fraud. ‘Digital arrest’ scams, where criminals pose as law enforcement officials have been growing in frequency, with many victims falling prey to the deceitful tactics of the fraudsters. The police have advised the public to be cautious.
