Fake cops dupe elderly Delhi woman of Rs 83 lakh

NEW DELHI: Krishna Dasgupta, a 72-year-old resident of CR Park in south Delhi, recently became the victim of an elaborate fraud, with scammers using a tactic known as "digital arrest" to steal Rs 83 lakh from her bank accounts.
The crooks not just sent her fake arrest warrants and notices but also took her on a video call and asked her to remain confined to a room where she was told she had been "held under observation".They then coerced her to go to her bank branches and transfer funds to them for "verification".
The woman told TOI that she panicked and followed the instructions to avoid any "legal trouble".
Scammers scare 72-yr-old with fake legal notices
The fake cops even told the 72-year-old woman to take rest after making her run around the whole day and said they would revert to give her a clean chit. She only realised she may have been duped when they didn't get back.
The drama unfolded around 9.30am on May 24. Dasgupta received a pre-recorded message from the "Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's notification unit". They threatened to block her mobile number for alleged misuse for circulating pornographic content. Alarmed and confused, Dasgupta called the number back to clear her name. On the other side was a man who claimed to be a Mumbai Police officer.
He fabricated a case against Dasgupta, complete with a fake FIR number and a warrant for her arrest issued by "CBI" in a "Mumbai court". The scammer ordered Dasgupta to appear in the Mumbai court within two hours. She also received a fake arrest order on WhatsApp that looked almost real with a stamp and signature.
During a video call with the scammers, who had their own video turned off, Dasgupta was instructed to keep her camera on, lock herself in a room, and not allow anyone to enter or leave. She was also told to cease all communication with family members and neighbours.
"Scared of what was to unfold next, I continued to follow their orders as they kept on saying things like, 'you're like our mother, we know you haven't done anything wrong, let me try to speak to my seniors in CBI, and I'm sure something will work out'," she told TOI. "I could hear multiple voices in the background actually talking about my money laundering activities and how they could get me out of this," she added.
The scammers demanded her Aadhaar card number, insisting they needed to check if her name had come up in other cases. They informed her about an alleged money laundering case involving a former airline chief and bombarded her WhatsApp with more fake notices.
The scammers then instructed Dasgupta to transfer all her funds to the Mumbai police and CBI officials for further scrutiny and investigation. She was ordered to visit her banks and transfer Rs 58 lakh from one account and 25 lakh from another immediately. Dasgupta endured a harrowing virtual confinement via WhatsApp video call from 9am till 10.30pm, unable to leave her seat before heading to the bank to transfer money as demanded by the fraudsters.