In a shocking turn of events, a Noida family became the victim of a horrific 'digital arrest' fraud and lost over Rs 1 crore. Not just the loss of money, the entire family underwent severe mental trauma as all the members were literally held captive for five days by fraudsters impersonating public officials. How this horror story unfolded and what really happened was later revealed by the police.
Digital Arrest Modus Operandi
How did they really do it in today's day and age when most people are generally aware about the world around them? This is a tale of the dangers of modern technology and the anonymity it allows. According to the police, the scammers faked being government officials, struck fear in the family of the consequences of some bad actions allegedly committed by them and tricked them into voluntarily parting with their money, PTI reported.
Notably, the fraudsters issued threats during video calls to the family.
The type of fraud, called 'digital arrest', is where the criminals pretend to be officials from government agencies such as the CBI, customs or others. They spread fear and confusion, alleging that the victims are money launderers, or those involved in illegal international shipments, and falsely accuse them of other heinous crimes. They make their threats sound more real through video calls and show unverified, official-looking documents and force the victims to comply out of fear.
Chandrabhan Paliwal, the complainant, said he received a call from an unknown number on Feb. 1. It was from a person claiming to be from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), warning that his SIM card would be blocked. Soon, another person, video called. This one was impersonating an IPS officer, claiming to be calling from a police station in Mumbai.
On the phone, the fraudster accused Paliwal of extortion and said that he has 24 cases registered against him in various places. This added to the fear because the CBI was also claiming to investigate him for money laundering.
Things quickly went from bad to worse as Paliwal's wife and daughter began receiving video calls too. They told them they were part of the case and would be arrested if they did not pay a king's ransom. The family was terrified and confused and over the next five days transferred a whopping Rs 1.10 crore to the fraudsters.
However, only after all this happened, did Paliwal realize that he'd been scammed and came to the police. The case has been registered and an investigation has started.
The lesson to be drawn from all of this is that no real government official will randomly call anyone and accuse them of crimes and then ask for money to be transferred. Everyone who has a smartphone should be on alert for such scams, particularly those that use video calls and involve fake government officials. Notably, these scammers contact victims through email, and text messages on social media channels too.
It should be noted that this kind of scams are widespread and noting that, the government has launched the ‘National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal' (https://cybercrime.gov.in) to enable public to report such incidents.
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