Pune: A 65-year-old woman from the Sangvi area has become the latest victim of a digital arrest fraud in the city and lost Rs1 crore to cybercriminals. The retired Central govt official lodged a complaint with the Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police on Monday. Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Shivaji Pawar told TOI that the woman exhausted her entire savings in transfers to the crooks. “After receiving the complaint, our cyber team immediately took action and managed to freeze Rs35 lakh of the victim’s money. We have now initiated the process to recover it,” said Pawar.Senior police inspector Ravikiran Nale of the Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police told TOI that on Sept 3, the woman received a call from an unknown person claiming to be an executive of a courier company. The caller told the woman that a parcel bearing her name was found to contain drugs and threatened her with legal action. He then transferred the call to “an officer from the Mumbai police”. “The fake police officer contacted the woman via a video call and said they would take action against her and her husband in this case. He also said the senior citizen couple would face arrest,” said Nale. The fake policeman then connected the woman to an alleged “senior officer”. The latter instructed the woman and her husband not to tell anyone that they were being questioned by the police, placing her under “digital arrest”. He took down her bank details and claimed that the account needed to be verified via a transaction. The woman was assured that she would get all her money back after the verification. Nale said, “The woman then transferred Rs1 crore to the bank account number provided to her. This amount included her entire bank balance and fixed deposits.” The crooks were in contact with the woman till Sept 11. The couple did not inform anyone, including their son, who lives in the Pimpri Chinchwad area, about the incident. “On Sept 11, when their son went to meet his parents, they told him about the incident. He immediately advised them to file an online complaint and approach the police,” Nale said, adding, “Our investigations are ongoing.”
