An alarming instance of cyber fraud occurred in Hyderabad, where a 67-year-old woman and her two daughters were placed under ‘digital arrest’ for 17 days by scammers acting as national agency investigators. The fraudsters posed as government investigators. The daughters were only permitted to leave the house to take examinations. Furthermore, the scammers compelled the victims to send 5.5 crore. The family later discovered they had been deceived via digital arrest.
Employees of the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) filed a formal complaint and began an inquiry. The family’s troubles started on 13th November when a man masquerading as Rahul Kumar from the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) department called Bharati Bai Agarwal, a Basheerbagh resident. He then forwarded the call to two people, pretending to be CBI investigators, Saurav Sharma and Ajay Gupta before claiming that her Aadhaar-linked phone number was connected to drug and money laundering cases. The duo then told her to connect on Skype.
Bharati and her daughters were informed on Skype that they had been “digitally arrested” and were under surveillance via audio and video. The scammers used fictitious documents with the CBI (Central Bureau Of Investigation) and RBI (Reserve Bank of India) logos and forged footage of people in handcuffs to scare them into complying. The only ones allowed to leave the house for their exams were the daughters, who had to instantly reconnect on Skype upon return.
The family was forced to transfer money under the guise of confirming financial transactions after the scammers demanded their bank account information. When asked by bank officials about significant transactions, Bharati was told to give false justifications, including buying real estate or charity work. She made several transactions to transfer 5.5 crore. The woman learned she had been duped when she went to the Sultan Bazar CBI office on 8th December with the documentation the con artists provided her in an attempt to retrieve the money.
The scheme was shown to be a hoax after officials verified the documents were phony. Afterwards, the family complained to the TGCSB. A formal complaint was filed in accordance with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act of 2008, as well as various sections of BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita) and banking laws. The case, which seems to be the product of a coordinated group impersonating national agency employees, is being investigated by TGCSB Inspector R Venkatesh. Police were working to find the money trail to catch the criminals.
Cybercriminals utilize a technique known as “digital arrest” to lock victims in their homes in order to swindle them. They instil fear among their targets while acting as law enforcement officers while using visual aids or artificial intelligence-generated voices by making audio or video calls. They try to gain the faith of users by using fake materials and documents and loot money from them.
