Malakpet Couple Loses Rs 64 Lakh in 4-Month Digital Arrest Fraud

A 71-year-old retired State Bank of India employee and his wife from Malakpet were duped of Rs 64 lakh after fraudsters subjected them to a "digital arrest" lasting over four months, falsely claiming the senior citizen was implicated in the Pahalgam attack case.

The cyber fraud began on April 9 when the victim received a phone call from an individual claiming to represent a private bank. The caller told him that an outstanding balance of Rs 1.06 lakh was pending on a credit card allegedly issued under his name in Mumbai. Shortly after, he received further calls claiming a criminal case had been registered against him.

The fraudsters then connected with him via WhatsApp video call, where a man posed as an IPS officer. The impersonator claimed the victim’s name had surfaced in an investigation into the Pahalgam attack involving an individual named Sandeep Kumar.

The fraudsters leveraged detailed personal information about the family to intimidate them, specifically citing the victim’s grandson residing in the United States and his daughter’s daily travel route. They threatened to implicate the grandson in a narcotics case if the couple did not follow their instructions.

Fearing harm to their family, the couple complied. The victim transferred Rs 2 lakh on April 10. The fraudsters maintained constant surveillance through frequent calls and video check-ins, monitoring the couple's movements and inquiring about any visitors entering their residence. They extracted another Rs 8 lakh on April 15 and continued demanding more money.

When the victim informed the callers that his funds were exhausted, they pressured him to raise money through pension loans, gold loans, and private borrowings. The fraudsters subsequently alleged he was involved in a money-laundering case and brought up a property he owned in Narapally, ordering him to sell it and transfer the money.

Although the Narapally property was valued at more than Rs 1 crore, the victim was forced to sell it in haste for approximately Rs 75 lakh. The property registration was completed on August 19, and the proceeds were transferred to the scammers.

The couple remained under the fraudsters’ digital control until August 22. The retired employee finally realised he had fallen prey to a scam after reading a newspaper report detailing digital arrest operations. He then approached the Hyderabad Cybercrime police, who registered a case and initiated an investigation.