STF arrests one accused from Chhattisgarh
Tuesday, 01 October 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
A resident of Punjab, employed at a private company in Haridwar, was subjected to a five hour digital arrest scam in which he lost Rs 43 lakh. The victim was tricked into believing that he was under investigation by the Mumbai Crime Branch. The deputy superintendent of police of cyber crime police station of Uttarakhand Special Task Force, Ankush Mishra said that the victim reported receiving a phone call on August 24, 2024, purportedly from FedEx, informing him about a suspicious parcel being sent from Mumbai to Iran under his name. The caller alleged that the parcel contained illegal documents, including passports, restricted medicines, and drugs, leading to a legal case filed in Mumbai. The scammers, posing as officers from the Mumbai Crime Branch, convinced the victim to cooperate with an online investigation. They orchestrated a video call through Skype, displaying fake police identification and falsely informing him that his Aadhaar card had been used in multiple money laundering cases.
Over the course of several hours, the victim was coerced into transferring all his savings to a bank account for verification. By the time the victim realised he had been duped, he had lost Rs 43 lakh, the DSP said. He stated that the STF started investigation using data from banks and service providers and traced the digital evidence and finally identified the main accused. After multiple raids, the team arrested a 31-year-old man from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh on Monday and seized a mobile phone, SIM card and a 16GB memory card used in the crime. He said that as per the investigation so far, the accused has allegedly defrauded victims of Rs 1.27 crore in the digital house arrest scam.
Mishra said that no legitimate government agency will ever ask for money or personal details through WhatsApp, Skype or similar platforms. Individuals who encounter such calls or messages should immediately report the matter to their nearest police station or the Cyber Crime department.
