Juhu Retired Bank Manager Duped of Rs 3.8 Crore in Digital Arrest Fraud
A 64-year-old retired bank operations manager residing in Juhu was allegedly duped of Rs 3.8 crore by cyber fraudsters who placed him under "digital arrest" for 10 days by posing as Anti-Terrorist Squad officers from Mumbai and Lucknow.
The West Cyber police registered a First Information Report (FIR) on August 21 after the senior citizen grew suspicious when the scammers continued to demand additional money despite already collecting his entire retirement savings of Rs 3.8 crore.
According to cyber police officials, the fraud began when an individual posing as Inspector General Vikram Singh contacted the Juhu resident. The caller claimed that Rs 7 crore had been credited to a bank account in Jammu & Kashmir in the victim's name and that the funds had been utilized for terrorist activities in India.
The fraudsters further frightened the senior citizen by claiming that a money-laundering case had been filed against him. They alleged that his name surfaced during the interrogation and arrest of an alleged terrorist identified as Asif Fauji.
Over the course of 10 days, the fraudsters kept the retired manager confined under digital arrest through continuous communication and coerced him into transferring his savings. The victim transferred the funds into four initial bank accounts designated by the fraudsters.
Following the registration of the FIR, the West Cyber police launched an investigation to track the money trail. Investigators discovered that the siphoned money had been quickly diverted from the initial four accounts across 150 bank accounts in several states, including multiple mule accounts.
Police officers have succeeded in freezing approximately Rs 2 crore across the identified bank accounts. Cyber police stated that efforts to recover the remaining funds are ongoing.
