Pune: Cyber fraudsters posing as officials duped a 68-year-old retired woman from Hadapsar of ₹20.70 lakh by trapping her in a ‘digital arrest’ scam over several weeks, police said.
The ordeal began on January 13 when the victim received a call from a man claiming to be from the telecom department. He alleged that a mobile number issued in her name was being misused for obscene calls and sharing explicit content, and warned that legal action had been initiated.
As she expressed her inability to travel to Mumbai for questioning, the caller transferred the call to another person. The second fraudster intensified the pressure, claiming her bank account was linked to a ₹2 crore money laundering case and that a debit card bearing her name had been recovered from an arrested businessman.
According to police, the accused instilled fear of arrest and convinced the woman that she was under investigation. Gradually, they extracted sensitive financial details, including information about her bank accounts, investments, gold, and fixed deposits.
Under the pretext of verification, the woman liquidated her assets by selling shares and gold jewellery, deposited the proceeds into her account, and transferred ₹20.70 lakh to accounts provided by the fraudsters.
The accused assured her that the amount would be returned after scrutiny. However, when no money was refunded, the victim realised she had been cheated.
She subsequently filed a complaint with the Hadapsar police. An investigation is underway to identify and trace the accused.
