Indore: 13 Duped Of ₹1.5 Crore In New 'Digital Arrest' Cyber Fraud, Police Recover ₹46 Lakh

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): At least 13 people have allegedly been duped of ₹1.5 crore in cases of digital arrests in the last eight months in Madhya Pradesh's Indore, police said on Tuesday.

Digital arrests are a new method of cyber fraud in which fraudsters make audio or video calls, pose as law enforcement officers and confine victims to their homes to scam them.

Talking to reporters, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajesh Dandotia said, "We have received complaints from 13 people about being duped of ₹1.5 crore in the name of digital arrest since January 1. Of these, we have managed to recover and return ₹46 lakh to the victims." He said in most cases of digital arrest, fraudsters introduced themselves as police or customs department officials or courier company employees and duped complainants online by threatening them with legal action in fabricated cases.

"Our investigations have found that people who carried out such frauds are connected to Odisha, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar," Dandotia said.

Digital arrest

The official said in the latest case of digital arrest, the owner of a transformer manufacturing factory was trapped and duped of ₹8 lakh.

"Fraudsters called this person and told him that the customs department had seized the container sent by him to Thailand because of drugs and objectionable materials found in it," he said.

Dandotia said fraudsters also allegedly told the factory owner that his bank account had been used for money laundering.

"The fraudsters made a video call in the name of investigation by introducing themselves as officers of the Mumbai police's crime branch. They got ₹ 8 lakh transferred from the man's bank account to another account by threatening him with 14 years of imprisonment and a heavy fine," he said.

When there was no response from the other side for a long time during the video call, the factory owner realised that the man had been duped, Dandotia said.