IIT Bombay Student Duped Of Rs 7.29 Lakh In 'Digital Arrest' Scam

An IIT Bombay student lost Rs 7.29 lakh after a fraudster posed as a TRAI employee, threatening him with a "digital arrest" and coercing him into paying to avoid alleged legal trouble.

'Digital arrest' is a new and growing form of cyber fraud. (Representative Image)

Source : ABPLIVE AI

Mumbai: An IIT Bombay student lost Rs 7.29 lakh after a fraudster posed as a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) employee and coerced him into paying the money by intimidating him under the pretext of 'digital arrest', news agency PTI quoted police as saying.

'Digital arrest' is a new and growing form of cyber fraud in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials or personnel of government agencies, and intimidate victims through audio/video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on the victims to make payment.

"The 25-year-old victim received a call from an unknown number in July this year. The caller posed as an employee of the TRAI and informed him that 17 complaints of illegal activities were registered against his mobile number," an official of the Powai police station in Mumbai said.

The caller informed the victim that to prevent his mobile number from being deactivated, he needed to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the police. Claiming to transfer the call to the Cyber Crime Branch, the fraudster continued the deception.

During a WhatsApp video call, a man dressed as a police officer appeared, demanded the victim's Aadhaar number, and accused him of involvement in money laundering. The victim was then coerced into transferring Rs 29,500 via Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The fraudsters escalated their threats, claiming the victim was under "digital arrest" and was prohibited from contacting anyone. The following day, they demanded additional money. This time, the victim shared his bank account details, allowing the scammers to siphon Rs 7 lakh. After receiving the funds, the fraudsters assured the victim that he was safe and would not face arrest.

Suspecting foul play, the student conducted an online search about "digital arrest" and realized he had been scammed. He then approached the police and filed a complaint against the unidentified fraudsters, according to the police official.