Pune: Police recorded 21 digital arrest scams between Jan and May this year in which the victims lost Rs 9.21 crore.In Nov last year, a top executive of a Mumbai-based software company lodged a complaint with the Pune cyber police, stating that online fraudsters posing as CBI officials, digitally arrested him in a money laundering case, and extorted Rs6.30 crore from him.During investigations, Pune cyber police nabbed a mule account holder Tushar Harischandra Wajantri (28), a resident of Roha in Raigad district. His wife is a sarpanch of the village.Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) started a ringtone in Jan this year, alerting citizens not to fall prey to online scamsters, especially those involving digital arrests. Despite this ringtone and awareness by the cyber police, cases of digital arrest are being reported regularly.Last year, police recorded 81 cases of digital arrests in which victims were cheated out of Rs49.76 crore by fraudsters. “Despite all the awareness measures, cases are being reported regularly. However, the number of such cases has reduced,” said senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of Pune cyber police.Of the 21 cases between Jan and May this year, 16 were registered by local police stations, while five were recorded by Pune cyber police station. Last year, 16 cases were registered by the cyber police station, while local police stations registered 65 cases. Police did not register a single complaint in 2023.“Last year, Rs 6.3 crore was the highest amount lost by an individual to fraudsters. Then, we received complaints in which the victims were duped of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 60 lakh. In most of these cases, elderly couples or individuals from Deccan, Bund Garden Road, Vimannagar, and Sahanagar were the victims,” Shinde said.“With suspects using mule accounts and virtual private networks, it has become difficult to investigate such cases,” she said. “If the prime mule account operators are arrested by the police, it will deter others from giving their bank accounts to fraudsters who are mostly based in foreign countries like Dubai or Cambodia,” Shinde said.Sandip Gadiya, a cybercrime investigator & cyber forensic expert, said, “Fraudsters play with the sentiments of people in four ways, capitalising on fear, greed, lack of awareness, and carelessness of the victims. And these factors contribute to cyber crimes.”He said, “Digital arrest fraud cases are based on fear factor in which a person is put in fear of arrest and jail, and money is extorted from him by fraudsters posing as officials of Enforcement Directorate, CBI, and police.”“Though the number of digital arrest cases has reduced, the effectiveness of awareness campaign has been minimum because people do not care about frauds, thinking that these will not happen to them,” Gadiya said. “Banks and telecom companies must do KYC checks of their customers properly, and if done thoroughly, the nuisance of mule bank accounts will reduce,” he said. “Suspects use virtual private networks (VPNs) to make digital calls or calls through video call-making applications. The govt must keep a check on VPNs. Investigations take too long because of VPNs,” he said.Year – No of cases – Amount2023 – Nil – Nil2024 – 81 – Rs 49.76 crores2025 – 21 – Rs 9.21 crores (Till May end) MSID:: 121646160 413 |Pune: Police recorded 21 digital arrest scams between Jan and May this year in which the victims lost Rs 9.21 crore.In Nov last year, a top executive of a Mumbai-based software company lodged a complaint with the Pune cyber police, stating that online fraudsters posing as CBI officials, digitally arrested him in a money laundering case, and extorted Rs6.30 crore from him.During investigations, Pune cyber police nabbed a mule account holder Tushar Harischandra Wajantri (28), a resident of Roha in Raigad district. His wife is a sarpanch of the village.Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) started a ringtone in Jan this year, alerting citizens not to fall prey to online scamsters, especially those involving digital arrests. Despite this ringtone and awareness by the cyber police, cases of digital arrest are being reported regularly.Last year, police recorded 81 cases of digital arrests in which victims were cheated out of Rs49.76 crore by fraudsters. “Despite all the awareness measures, cases are being reported regularly. However, the number of such cases has reduced,” said senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of Pune cyber police.Of the 21 cases between Jan and May this year, 16 were registered by local police stations, while five were recorded by Pune cyber police station. Last year, 16 cases were registered by the cyber police station, while local police stations registered 65 cases. Police did not register a single complaint in 2023.“Last year, Rs 6.3 crore was the highest amount lost by an individual to fraudsters. Then, we received complaints in which the victims were duped of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 60 lakh. In most of these cases, elderly couples or individuals from Deccan, Bund Garden Road, Vimannagar, and Sahanagar were the victims,” Shinde said.“With suspects using mule accounts and virtual private networks, it has become difficult to investigate such cases,” she said. “If the prime mule account operators are arrested by the police, it will deter others from giving their bank accounts to fraudsters who are mostly based in foreign countries like Dubai or Cambodia,” Shinde said.Sandip Gadiya, a cybercrime investigator & cyber forensic expert, said, “Fraudsters play with the sentiments of people in four ways, capitalising on fear, greed, lack of awareness, and carelessness of the victims. And these factors contribute to cyber crimes.”He said, “Digital arrest fraud cases are based on fear factor in which a person is put in fear of arrest and jail, and money is extorted from him by fraudsters posing as officials of Enforcement Directorate, CBI, and police.”“Though the number of digital arrest cases has reduced, the effectiveness of awareness campaign has been minimum because people do not care about frauds, thinking that these will not happen to them,” Gadiya said. “Banks and telecom companies must do KYC checks of their customers properly, and if done thoroughly, the nuisance of mule bank accounts will reduce,” he said. “Suspects use virtual private networks (VPNs) to make digital calls or calls through video call-making applications. The govt must keep a check on VPNs. Investigations take too long because of VPNs,” he said.Year – No of cases – Amount2023 – Nil – Nil2024 – 81 – Rs 49.76 crores2025 – 21 – Rs 9.21 crores (Till May end) MSID:: 121646160 413 |
