Digital arrest scam: 92-year-old retired surgeon ‘duped’ of Rs 2.2 crore

Scam: With the arrest of two men, the Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit has busted an international syndicate of digital-arrest fraud that allegedly duped a 92-year-old retired surgeon of Rs 2.2 crore by impersonating government officials via video calls, an official said on Thursday.

The cyber syndicate, which operated through a network of mule accounts and digital impersonation, tricked the victim into believing that multiple FIRs were registered against him.

The case came to light on March 15, when the elderly victim got a complaint lodged with the unit, according to a statement issued by the IFSO.

He informed police that on March 12, he received several calls from people posing as officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Maharashtra Police. The callers claimed that multiple FIRs were filed against him and that he would be arrested.

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“The fraudsters then carried out what is now known as a ‘digital arrest’. Through a series of threatening video calls, they manipulated the victim by showing forged court documents and forced him to participate in a fake ‘virtual court hearing’,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari said in the statement.

Out of fear and confusion, the victim liquidated all his fixed deposits and transferred the funds to three bank accounts as instructed by the fraudsters, believing it to be a part of an official verification process. Later, he got to know that he was cheated.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered and a team formed to investigate the matter and nab the accused.

“After detailed surveillance and digital-footprint analysis, the team managed to trace the accused handling the mule accounts. A raid was conducted in Ghaziabad, resulting in the arrest of Amit Sharma alias Rahul. Following this, his associate Hari Swargiary was arrested from Guwahati, Assam,” the DCP said.

Sharma (42), a resident of Delhi’s Anand Vihar, had studied up to Class 10, while Swargiary (27) holds a B.Sc degree and hails from Assam’s Udalguri. Both were allegedly involved in procuring, managing and operating fake bank accounts to route the proceeds of the scam to international destinations.

The modus operandi of the syndicate was that the accused would first impersonate officials from agencies such as police, Central Bureau of Investigation and the customs department. The victims were initially threatened with arrest and criminal charges but were later convinced that it could be a case of mistaken identity. They were then told to transfer their money into designated accounts for “safe custody” until the verification process was complete, police said.

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Police have seized three mobile phones, SIM cards used in the commission of the crime and other incriminating digital evidence. Officials said efforts are on to identify and nab the remaining members of the syndicate, including those possibly operating from abroad.