Retired Hyderabad couple duped of ₹47 lakh in cyber ‘digital arrest’ scam

Hyderabad: A retired government employee and his wife from LB Nagar lost ₹46.74 lakh over 45 days to cybercriminals who threatened them with “digital arrest” in a fabricated human trafficking case.

The fraud began on May 30 when the victim received a call from someone posing as a telecom department official. Claiming multiple legal cases were linked to his number, the caller said Bengaluru police had filed a complaint. The victim was asked to speak with one “officer Shivaprasad”, who instructed him to appear in Bengaluru for questioning.

When the man said he was unfamiliar with Bengaluru, the fraudster initiated a video call, claiming he was placing the victim under “digital arrest”. He then extracted Aadhaar, PAN, phone, bank, and other personal details, warning him not to share this with anyone.

When the victim asked what offence he had committed, the caller alleged his Aadhaar was linked to fraudulent bank accounts used in a human trafficking case involving a suspect named Sadakat Khan. Over the next two days, the scammers conducted staged video interrogations.

They then referred the victim to another fake officer, impersonating IPS officer Navjot Simi, who claimed the investigation would require the victim to prove no tainted funds were in his accounts. He was told to transfer funds to an RBI-supervised account temporarily.

On May 31, following instructions from an alleged “officer Rakesh Kumar”, the victim transferred ₹11 lakh. From June 3 to 13, the gang called daily under the guise of the “digital arrest” protocol.

By July 23, citing a fake income tax notice demanding ₹35.73 lakh, the gang remained in daily contact via video calls. The victim eventually sold a flat in his wife’s name in Vijayawada and kept depositing funds into accounts shared by the scammers.

In total, ₹46,74,101 was siphoned in instalments. It was only after confiding in acquaintances that the victim realised he had been conned. On Sunday, he filed a complaint with Rachakonda Cybercrime police, who have registered a case and launched an investigation.