Mumbai: In a disturbing twist to the rising ‘digital arrest’ frauds, a 58-year-old widow from Mumbai’s western suburbs was allegedly cheated of ₹60 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as senior police officials and collected the money in cash through agents.
Unlike typical cases where victims are coerced into transferring money online, the accused in this case adopted a more calculated approach physically collecting cash in two installments to avoid leaving a digital trail.
According to police sources, the victim had already been under financial stress after her husband’s death in April last year, which left her with a business loan of ₹1 crore and a monthly EMI of ₹1.1 lakh. Sensing vulnerability, the fraudsters targeted her barely a month later.
The ordeal began with a video call from a man claiming to be an officer from the Delhi Police. He falsely alleged that a bank account linked to her Aadhaar card had been used in a ₹1.5 crore money laundering case. When she questioned the jurisdiction, the call was escalated to another accused posing as a Deputy Commissioner of Police from Mumbai’s western region.
The fake officer threatened her with “digital arrest” and legal consequences, pressuring her to clear all pending debts. To intensify the fear, the fraudsters even shared her property details, including a 7/12 extract of land in Dahanu, and pushed her to sell it.
When she failed to liquidate the property, the accused coerced her into selling her gold jewellery. The victim raised ₹35 lakh by selling jewellery and handed over the cash to a man near a bus stop. His identity was verified through a faceless photograph sent on WhatsApp.
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On February 6, she arranged another ₹25 lakh. Around 6:35 am, another person arrived near her residential building and collected the cash, again identified via a photo shared by the fraudsters. Despite repeated assurances, the accused continued to demand more money under various pretexts. Eventually, growing suspicious, the victim approached the police and realised she had been duped.
Mumbai Police have registered an FIR and initiated a probe into the case. Officials noted that while ‘digital arrest’ scams usually rely on online transactions, this case marks a concerning shift, with fraudsters opting for physical cash collection to bypass digital tracking. Authorities have urged citizens to remain cautious and verify any claims made by individuals posing as law enforcement officers, especially in cases involving threats of arrest or demands for money.
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