Senior citizen duped of Rs 70 lakh in digital arrest in Hyderabad

The cybercrime police cracked 10 cases and arrested 21 accused from across the country between November 19 and November 25.

Hyderabad: A senior citizen in Hyderabad was put under digital arrest by cyber fraudsters posing as Delhi police and duped him of Rs 70 lakh.

The incident is one of the 10 cybercrime cases recently detected by the Cyberabad police. According to the police, the victim is a retired person who received a call from the fraudsters via WhatsApp. The fraudsters claimed that his name was linked to a financial fraud.

During the call, he was allegedly transferred to another person on video call who identified himself as a cybercrime officer. The callers told him the matter was under CBI investigation and threatened legal consequences if he did not cooperate.

Police said the victim was allegedly instructed not to inform bank officials or family members and to delete call logs and messages. Under pressure, the victim broke his deposits and transferred amounting to Rs 70 lakh, which the fraudsters claimed were required for RBI verification.

After the callers stopped responding, the victim realised he had been cheated and filed a complaint.

Based on technical investigation, police arrested four suspects from Kerala. They were identified as Moinudheen A.K., Vipindas, Riyas Nooran Moochi and Muhammed Zakariyya Kurungadan.

21 held for cybercrine in Hyderabad

The cybercrime police cracked 10 cases and arrested 21 accused from across the country between November 19 and November 25. They also successfully processed 163 refund orders of 49 cases, amounting to Rs 89.77 lakh.

Out of the 21 arrests, 13 were linked to trading fraud, and 7 were linked to digital arrest fraud, stated a release.