Elderly Woman Loses Rs 30 Lakh in Digital Arrest Scam: How Fraudsters Used Terrorism Allegations to Execute the Perfect Cybercrime

Between November 23 and December 3, the victim transferred Rs 30 lakh of her savings to scammers who claimed she was involved in a terrorism case. This incident represents a classic example of digital arrest fraud.

In Indore, a 67-year-old woman became the victim of cybercriminals who successfully extracted Rs 30 lakh from her by falsely claiming her name had appeared in a terrorism investigation. Police officials provided details of this sophisticated scam on Friday.

The term 'digital arrest' refers to a cybercrime tactic where fraudsters impersonate law enforcement personnel and intimidate victims through calls, coercing them into making online money transfers under duress.

According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotiya, the elderly woman received a call on November 23 from an individual who presented himself as a Superintendent of Police stationed in Jammu and Kashmir.

The impersonator informed the woman that authorities had confiscated a mobile phone from a terrorist which contained evidence linking her to money laundering operations worth Rs 2,300 crore. The scammer alleged that her bank account had been utilized for these illegal transactions and claimed she had received Rs 1.50 crore as compensation for facilitating money laundering.

The fraudster threatened her with arrest unless she transferred her funds to supposed "government accounts" for what they called "verification" purposes.

Terrified by these threats, the woman complied with the scammer's instructions between November 23 and December 3, transferring approximately Rs 30 lakh from her personal savings.

"The victim lives alone in her residence. Her two sons reside overseas. Intimidated by the scammer's threats, she kept silent for several days. Eventually, she found the courage to share her experience with her daughter and son-in-law before filing a police report," explained the police official.

Authorities have confirmed that an investigation into this fraud case is currently ongoing.