70-year-old retired Delhi engineer duped of Rs 10 crore in digital arrest scam

A 70-year-old retired Delhi engineer was scammed out of over Rs 10 crore by fraudsters posing as law enforcement, who tricked him into transferring his life savings by threatening arrest over a fake drug parcel.

In Short

• Scammers posed as law enforcement, claimed parcel had drugs
• Victim forced to stay on camera for 8 hours, manipulated to transfer money
• Rs 10 crore siphoned; Rs 60 lakh recovered by police

A 70-year-old retired engineer from Delhi lost his life savings after falling prey to a digital arrest scam. The scammers tricked him into believing that a parcel containing banned substances from Taiwan had been sent in his name. Posing as law enforcement officers, the fraudsters coerced the elderly man into transferring money to various accounts, ultimately siphoning off over Rs10 crore.

The police have since managed to freeze Rs 60 lakh of the stolen amount, while efforts are ongoing to recover the rest.

HOW THE FRAUD UNFOLDED

The incident occurred in Delhi's Rohini area, where the victim received a sudden, seemingly automated call. The message claimed to be related to a package addressed to him. As soon as he answered, an individual on the other end started asking for his personal details, including his full name and other identification information.

The scammers then informed him that a parcel registered in his name had been intercepted, allegedly containing restricted drugs. They threatened him with a case and immediate arrest if he did not cooperate. Panicked, the elderly man was convinced to follow their instructions to avoid legal trouble.

FORCED TO STAY IN FRONT OF CAMERA FOR HOURS

The fraudsters forced the victim to isolate himself in a room, turn on his phone or laptop camera, and remain on video for nearly eight hours. They warned him that if he moved or turned off the camera, he would be arrested, and his entire family would also be implicated.

As the man complied, another individual, pretending to be a Mumbai Police officer, appeared on the screen. This fake officer gained his trust by claiming to help him avoid arrest. Using this ruse, they extracted information about his bank accounts and convinced him that transferring his money to "safe" accounts was necessary to protect his savings.

MULTIPLE TRANSFERS TO VARIOUS ACCOUNTS

Over the course of eight hours, the victim was manipulated into transferring all his savings to several different accounts provided by the scammers. Once his accounts were emptied, the fraudsters demanded that he withdraw money from his children's accounts as well.

The victim realised he had been duped only after his bank accounts were drained. He immediately reported the incident to the police. Given the scale of the fraud, the case was handed over to the cybercrime unit, which promptly froze Rs 60 lakh of the stolen funds. Authorities are now tracking the remaining transactions to recover as much money as possible.