Two senior citizens lose ₹1.3 crore in digital arrest

Cops File FIRs, Manage To Freeze ₹42LLucknow: Cyber fraudsters, posing as CBI, ED and ATS officers, digitally arrested two elderly residents of the city for several days and cheated them of a total of Rs 1.3 crore, police said.In two separate cases, a retired Navy captain and principal of a marine navy college was kept under digital surveillance for five days and forced to transfer Rs 52 lakh, while a 75-year-old woman was subjected to six days of intimidation and transferred Rs 78.5 lakh to fraudsters after they accused her of being linked to an international human trafficking and money-laundering network.FIRs in both cases have been registered at the cybercrime police station.Police said that a retired navy captain and principal of a marine navy college in Sikkim, who lives in Vishwas Khand, Gomti Nagar, received a call from an unknown number on Aug 18.The caller introduced himself as inspector Jitendra Tripathi from Delhi police headquarters. The caller claimed that a SIM card and debit card had been issued using his Aadhaar details and were used for illegal activities. The cyber fraudster said that an arrest warrant had been issued in this connection.The fraudsters subsequently posed as ED officers and kept him under “digital arrest” for five days.The fraudsters then demanded Rs 52 lakh to stop the arrest warrant.Fearing arrest, the victim, who was in Sikkim, travelled to Lucknow on Aug 19 and transferred Rs 45 lakh and Rs 7 lakh into two accounts provided by the fraudsters.After receiving the money, the callers switched off their mobile phones.ADCP, crime, Kiran Yadav said an FIR was lodged on charges of cheating, intimidation and the under the provisions of the Information Technology Act.During investigation, police found that the money had been transferred to accounts in Kerala and Punjab.ACP, cybercrime, Shahida Parveen said police managed to freeze Rs 20 lakh.In a separate case, a 75-year-old woman from Indiranagar was defrauded of Rs 78.5 lakh after cybercriminals kept her under digital arrest for six days.She has been living alone after the death of her husband in 2009. She informed the police that she received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number on Aug 13.The caller introduced himself as an ATS officer and claimed that a bank account in Mumbai had been opened using her Aadhaar details and it was being used for illegal activities.The fraudsters made repeated calls to her introducing themselves as Shri Mishra, Pradeep Sawant, Sandeep and Vijay Khanna from CBI and ATS.They asked the elderly woman to remain available on video calls every 30 minutes, failing which she would be arrested.When the fraudsters found that the woman’s bank and post office accounts did not have sufficient funds, they questioned her about her fixed deposits.On Aug 14, they asked her to visit the bank, prematurely withdraw her fixed deposits and transfer the money to accounts specified by the fraudsters.Fearing arrest and believing that she was being investigated for serious offences, she followed transferred a total of Rs 78.5 lakh.ADCP, crime, Kiran Yadav said Rs 22 lakh had been frozen.