NEW DELHI: In a shocking case of cybercrime reported from south Delhi, a retired doctor couple was defrauded of around Rs 15 crore after being kept under ‘digital arrest’ for over two weeks.The elderly victims, who returned from the United States in 2016 and reside in the Greater Kailash area, were targeted by cybercriminals for about a fortnight while their children were abroad.
This incident is being identified by cops as one of the largest cases of digital arrest in terms of the total amount siphoned from a single household.According to investigators, the ordeal lasted from Dec 24 to Jan 9, during which the scammers manipulated the couple into isolation and gained control over their finances. Sources said the crooks posed as officials of TRAI and cops from Mumbai and threatened the couple with allegations of money laundering and tax evasion, besides other offences. The couple was made to “surrender” or “deposit” at least Rs 14.85 crore for “verification”. Their money was eventually “declared clean” and “legitimate”.
On Jan 10, after exhausting their savings, the scammers asked the couple to visit the nearest police station to obtain a release order for the ‘seized money’. This was when they realised they were duped, police said, adding, the couple then reported the incident via the 1930 helpline.The complaint was initially received by CR Park police, but the investigation was later transferred to Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit due to the high amount involved. The IFSO personnel will interview the couple on Sunday to get further leads, sources said.The IFSO has officially registered an FIR and is currently investigating the money trail.The initial analysis of transactions indicates that the money was deposited into five to six primary accounts and then siphoned further to multiple accounts and wallets.The scale of the theft sent shockwaves, highlighting the increasing vulnerability of senior citizens to complex international cyber-syndicates. Investigators are currently tracing the bank accounts where the funds were transferred, though the cross-border nature of these crimes often makes full recovery difficult.Digital arrest is a psychological tactic used by cyber-fraudsters where victims are falsely informed that they are under investigation for serious crimes, such as money laundering or drug trafficking. The scammers typically pose as officials from law enforcement agencies like the CBI, ED or police, and use video calls to keep the victim under constant surveillance.During this period, victims are ordered not to contact anyone or leave their homes, effectively placing them in a ‘digital’ prison until they are coerced into transferring their savings into ‘safe’ govt-monitored accounts, which are actually controlled by the criminals.Last month, an 85-year-old woman was kept under ‘digital arrest’ for a month by scammers posing as Delhi Police officers and was defrauded of around Rs 1.3 crore.
