Couple looted of ₹14cr in two-week-long digi arrest
An elderly couple in Greater Kailash was scammed out of ₹14.85 crore in a "digital arrest" fraud after being threatened by a caller posing as law enforcement.
An elderly couple in Greater Kailashhas been duped of ₹14.85 crore within around 15 days in a “digital arrest” fraud, police said on Saturday.
According to police, the victims were in the United States for 48 years and worked with the United Nations until retiring and returning to India in 2015.
The couple told police that on December 24, they received a call and the caller posed as a law enforcement official. “The caller threatened them with arrest warrants and criminal cases, invoking stringent laws such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and even citing ‘national security’ to instil fear,” an investigator of the case said.
The caller got the couple on a video call after threatening them with police cases. The victims were under “digital arrest” until Saturday (January 10) morning.
“During this period, the woman was instructed to transfer money into eight different bank accounts. Around ₹2 crore were transferred each time, eventually totalling ₹14.85 crore,” the officer said.
The woman told police that the fraudsters closely monitored her movements. Whenever she needed to step out or make a call, they would video-call her husband to ensure she was not informing anyone about the scam. “Even when bank officials questioned the large transfers, she told them a false narrative taught to her by the fraudsters,” the officer said.
Finally, on January 10, the callers told her to approach the nearest police station, claiming that after she files a complaint the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will return her money.
As soon as the couple reached the police station, the fraudsters allegedly misbehaved with the officers over video call and disconnected.
A case has been registered at the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police and they are probing the case.
