Janakpuri Senior Citizen Rescued From Digital Arrest Scam After Rs 60 Lakh Transfer
Delhi Police's Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit intervened at a residence in Janakpuri, West Delhi, to rescue an elderly woman who was being held under an active digital arrest by cyber fraudsters. Investigators reached the woman while tracing the money trail from an unrelated Rs 67.3 lakh fraud case that was originally reported on September 20.
The IFSO team had been investigating a complaint on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal involving the fraudulent transfer of Rs 67,30,300. As officers tracked the movement of the stolen money, they identified an Axis Bank mule account registered under the name of a private limited company located in Nagori, Karnataka.
Further checks on money entering the Axis Bank account led investigators to a savings account at South Indian Bank. A review of transaction patterns indicated that this second account belonged to a genuine individual whose details were being used in the fraud network without her knowledge.
Police traced the account holder to an address in Janakpuri, West Delhi. An IFSO team, including Inspector Parveen Kumar and other personnel, visited the residence and found the senior citizen living alone, highly distressed, and actively under digital arrest by callers impersonating law enforcement.
According to investigators, the fraudsters told the elderly woman that her Aadhaar information was linked to money laundering and that her bank account had been used in a blast in Jammu and Kashmir. A female caller claimed to be an officer from the Central Bureau of Investigation and warned her that all her bank accounts would be frozen.
“The victim got a call from a woman who informed her that she is from the CBI. The fraudster told the victim that all her bank accounts would be frozen. The fraudsters made her transfer Rs 60 lakh. The investigating team is trying to stop the processing,” a senior police officer said.
The timely arrival of police saved the woman's remaining financial holdings, including mutual funds and shares. The IFSO team coordinated with the Station House Officer of the Janakpuri police station to dispatch a beat constable to her home, helped her file a complaint through the 1930 cyber helpline, and began the e-FIR process to freeze the transferred funds.
