Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Quick thinking by a bank official and immediate intervention by State Cyber Cell saved a 75-year-old woman from falling victim to a ‘digital arrest’. The woman, a resident of Kalyan Sampat Colony, was kept under digital arrest for approximately 24 hours before police rescued her.
The incident began on Saturday after the victim’s daughter left for her job at a bank. The elderly woman received a WhatsApp video call from an unknown number. The caller, posing as a CBI officer, claimed that illegal money amounting to Rs 6 crore had been credited to her bank account.
To ‘verify’ serial numbers of the currency notes allegedly deposited in her account, the scammer pressured her to transfer her existing savings to a ‘government-monitored’ account. They strictly forbade her from disconnecting the call or speaking to anyone else, a tactic used by fraudsters during a digital arrest.
The scammer initially demanded her ATM card details. When she said she did not have a card, they forced her to message her daughter for a photo of hers. Her daughter, who was busy in a meeting, questioned the urgency. Her suspicions grew when her mother’s phone remained constantly busy or went unanswered.
Following the scammer’s instructions to keep the phone active in her bag so they could monitor her every move, the woman went to her bank branch to perform an RTGS transfer of Rs 4 lakh. The branch manager, sensing something was wrong, contacted the woman’s son, who is also a senior bank official. Simultaneously, the daughter reached out to DSP Narendra Singh Raghuvanshi at the State Cyber Cell office.
Under the direction of senior officials, inspector Anju Patel rushed to the bank. She took control of the woman’s phone, ending the digital surveillance. When the inspector attempted to speak to the scammer, the criminal claimed it was a ‘wrong number’ and disconnected immediately.
Cyber Cell team secured the woman’s device, blocked the suspicious numbers, and registered a formal complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
Due to the coordinated efforts of the family, bank staff, and the State Cyber Cell, no money was lost. The woman was safely escorted home and provided with counselling on how to handle unknown callers.
The officials appealed to citizens to remain vigilant, reminding the public that law enforcement agencies such as the CBI, Police, or ED never conduct investigations via video calls, nor do they place individuals under ‘digital arrest’ or request money transfers over the phone.
