Mumbai: 26-Yr-Old Woman Forced To Strip On Video Call, Duped Of Rs 1.78 Lakh In Digital Arrest Scam

The fraudsters falsely accused her of her involvement in a money laundering case linked to businessman Naresh Goyal. An FIR has been registered at the Andheri Police Station.

A Mumbai woman fell for a digital arrest scam and got duped of Rs 1.78 lakh.

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The Andheri Police have registered a case of harassment and extortion after a 26-year-old woman in Mumbai was forced into stripping during a video call by fraudsters posing as police officials. She was also cheated of Rs 1.78 lakh as the fraudsters manipulated her accusing her of her involvement in a case. 

According to the FIR, the incident took place between November 19 and 20. The victim is an employee at a pharmaceutical company and a resident of Borivali East. She received a call from the fraudsters who posed as Delhi Police officers. The accused falsely accused her of involvement in a money laundering case linked to businessman Naresh Goyal.

The fraudsters threatened her with arrest and used multiple phone numbers, forcing her to book a hotel room to cooperate in interrogation. There, they asked her to participate in further discussions on a video call. During the call, the fraudsters asked for a bank account verification, tricking her into transferring Rs 1.78 lakh. However, they did not stop here and continued to exploit her under the guise of police investigation.

The woman was then asked to undress under the pretense of "body verification". Following the incident, the victim finally reported about it on November 28 after which a case of extortion and harassment was filed under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, India Today reported.

Initially the case was lodged at the Dahisar police station, but it was transferred to Andheri Police, who are now working to trace the fraudsters.

Authorities have urged the public to stay cautious to avoid falling for such scams. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had issued a stern warning last month against digital arrest scams. He pointed out that no government agency contacts people via phone or video calls for any sort of investigations.