Hyderabad woman, daughters face 17 days of ‘digital arrest’ in Rs 5.5 cr scam

Fraudsters imposed strict rules, permitting the daughters to leave their house only for exams, after which they had to reconnect on Skype immediately.

Hyderabad: In an alarming case of cyber fraud in Hyderabad, a 67-year-old woman and her two daughters were subjected to a 17-day ordeal of ‘digital arrest,’ during which they were kept under constant digital surveillance by scammers posing as investigators from national agencies.This elaborate ruse, which the fraudsters termed a “digital arrest,” led the family to transfer Rs 5.5 crore, only to realize they had been duped.

Digital arrest scam in Hyderabad: Ordeal began on November 13

It all began on November 13 when Bharati Bai Agarwal, a Basheerbagh resident, received a call from a man claiming to be Rahul Kumar from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller alleged that the woman’s Aadhaar-linked phone number was implicated in money laundering and drug cases. Later the call was transferred to two individuals posing as CBI officers, identified as Saurav Sharma and Ajay Gupta. The fraudsters directed Bharati and her daughters to connect with them via Skype, where they were informed of their “digital arrest.” To intimidate them, the scammers displayed staged footage of individuals in handcuffs and showed forged documents bearing logos of reputed agencies like the CBI and RBI.

Hyderabad woman transferred amount in multiple transactions

During the ‘digital arrest,’ the fraudsters imposed strict rules. The Hyderabad woman’s daughters were permitted to leave their house only for exams. After returning they had to reconnect on Skype immediately. Under the pretext of verifying financial transactions, the family was forced into sharing sensitive banking details and transferring Rs 5.5 crore in multiple transactions.Bharati was instructed to provide convincing explanations when questioned by bank officials about the large transfers.

Revelation

The deception came to light on December 8 when Bharati visited the CBI office at Sultan Bazar to reclaim the money using the documents provided by the scammers. Officials confirmed the documents were fake. Following the revelation, the family promptly filed a complaint with the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB). An FIR has been registered against the ‘digital arrest’ scam in Hyderabad under Sections 66D of the IT Act, 2008, along with provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and banking regulations.