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A Coimbatore doctor’s worst nightmare came true when he was duped of crores in a chilling cyber con. The ‘digital arrest’ scam is indeed turning fear into fortune for online fraudsters.
According to reports, on June 27, the 50-year-old doctor received a call from a man identifying himself as an officer from the Mumbai Cybercrime Police Station. The caller accused the physician of being part of a case related to cyber fraud and threatened him with immediate arrest unless he sent a huge amount of money.
Panicked and perplexed, the doctor was threatened into transferring Rs. 2.9 crore to the fraudsters. The fraudsters kept hounding him, asking for more money while consistently pressurizing him using fear and psychological coercion.
The ‘digital arrest’ is a vicious control tactic employed by cybercriminals. They make victims believe they are under virtual custody. Victims are told to isolate themselves and follow all of the given instructions. They are led to believe that the scammers are working with law enforcers to prevent jail time.
In this instance, the physician was instructed to stay confined at home and not speak to anyone. The fraudsters threatened him that monitoring was active and disobedience would result in real-time arrest.
Fortunately, through a preemptive intelligence operation, the Tamil Nadu State Cyber Command Centre had detected two real-time digital arrest scams, one in Coimbatore and another in Jharkhand. Even though the police in Jharkhand were alerted, a special cybercrime team was quickly sent to the Coimbatore victim’s premises.
When the police team arrived at the doctor’s house, he did not open the door, feeling that he was in official custody, as instructed by the instructions from the scammers. It took the team nearly two hours of explanation and persuasion to overcome his fear and break the news of the fraud to him. The doctor finally realized he had been deceived.
The timely intervention ensured that additional monetary losses were avoided. A complaint has been lodged, and an investigation has been initiated to track down the fraudsters and recover the money.
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Official sources are also asking the public to remain vigilant. No police officer will ever ask for money on a phone call to prevent an arrest. This is a warning sign of a digital arrest scam. If you get such a call, immediately hang up and report it.
Victims or witnesses may contact the Cybercrime Helpline at 1930 or give a complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in.
