Ghaziabad: Retired Govt Official Cheated Of Rs 60 Lakh As Fraudsters Put Him Under 'Digital Arrest'
The cybercriminals told Singh that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also registered a case in this connection, and they were planning to arrest me.
Ghaziabad: Cybercriminals allegedly duped a retired government official in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad of Rs 60 lakh by impersonating police officials. The fraudsters blamed the 65-year-old man of being involved in kids’ trafficking and placed him under “digital arrest”, police officers said on Sunday.
The victim, identified as Preetam Singh, a resident of Indirapuram, is a former Food Corporation of India employee. He approached police on Saturday following which a case was registered at the cybercrime branch police station.
Singh told cops that he a received a Whatsapp call from an unidentified number on October 10. When he picked up the call, the caller identified himself as a senior Delhi police officer and told him that a bank account registered under his name was found to be involved in a human trafficking of 17 children, according to media reports.
“I was informed that a bank account in my name was opened in a private bank and that I was involved in the human trafficking of children for Rs 68 crores, and I received 10 per cent of the money laundering amount in my bank account,” he told Hindustan Times.
The cybercriminals told Singh that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also registered a case in this connection, and they were planning to arrest me. "To get a clean chit from the case, I was asked to transfer ‘surety’ money into their bank account to be released post-legal investigation,” he said.
The accused reportedly made Singh switch to a video call and claimed to put him under “digital arrest”. The calls continued from October 10 to October 16.
Singh reside with his wife alone, while his son works in Mumbai and daughter reside in America. He said that because his wife knew who terrified he was, she did not inform anyone, even their kids. “They did not allow me to call anyone, and even asked me to leave the WhatsApp video call on while I slept at night. Whenever I tried to hang up the call, they called back again, citing the investigation.” said Singh.
During the course of the call, the fraudsters made Singh transfer Rs 60 lakh to their account and for that he reportedly approached a nearby bank and made RTGS (a system for transferring funds) of Rs 30 lakh, Rs 20 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh.
“Despite depositing Rs 60 lakh when I kept receiving calls on October 16 to pay Rs 50 lakh more, I contacted one of my acquaintances, who informed me that I had fallen into the trap,” said Singh.
Meanwhile, police has registered a a case under sections 204 (personating a public servant) and 318(4) (cheating and dishonesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act was registered in connection with the case and efforts are underway to freeze the transferred amount.
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