A 70-year-old retired government employee in Hyderabad lost Rs 52 lakh after fraudsters posing as police officers and senior officials allegedly threatened to arrest him in a fake criminal case.
The victim, a resident of Rama Krishnapuram, received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number on August 22. The caller allegedly introduced himself as an officer from Mumbai’s Colaba police station and claimed that a case had been registered against the victim for illegal advertising, harassment and fraudulent activities.
The fraudsters later added several other people to the video call, posing as senior officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Maharashtra Police, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
They allegedly told the retired government employee that a debit card linked to his Aadhaar had been used in transactions connected to terror funding and money laundering. The scammers then threatened to arrest him and freeze his bank accounts and other assets.
Fearing legal action, the victim followed their instructions and transferred Rs 52 lakh on August 25 to a bank account provided by the fraudsters. The payment was allegedly described as being required for “RBI verification”.
When the money was not returned and the callers became unreachable, the victim realised that he had been deceived and approached the police.
A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections related to criminal breach of trust, cheating, cheating by personation, forgery and extortion, along with provisions of the Information Technology Act.
The incident is another example of how digital arrest scammers exploit fear by impersonating police, investigative agencies and financial regulators. Victims are often threatened with arrest, account freezes or links to serious crimes and are pressured into transferring money under the pretext of verification or investigation.
