Two Amdavadis among six arrested for duping 74-year-old of Rs 24 crore through ‘digital arrest’ fraud in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Two people from Ahmedabad are among six people arrested for allegedly impersonating senior Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) and duping a 74-year-old woman of Rs 24 crore. The Karnataka State Cyber Command busted the “digital arrest” fraud racket, police said on Monday.

The accused were identified as Palak Patel and Amit Narendra Patel from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, N Sivagnanam from Erode in Tamil Nadu, Akkach Mallick from Mumbai in Maharashtra, Om Prakash Rajput from New Delhi and Gaurav Kumar from Bihar, they said. Police also seized six mobile phones used in the crime.

According to the police, the accused coerced the victim into transferring Rs 24 crore through 26 transactions into 23 mule bank accounts spread across 10 banks nationwide between Feb 10 and April 24 this year.

The fraud came to light on April 24 when the bank alerted the Cyber Command Unit about suspicious transactions. A police team immediately rushed to counsel the victim, saving Rs 3 crore by preventing further transfers.

Following a complaint by the elderly woman, the Cyber Command Unit tracked the first-layer mule accounts. “The team froze various mule accounts used for layering and laundering the proceeds of crime with the help of the National Cyber Reporting Platform (NCRP) portal, saving over Rs 4 crore and recovering nearly Rs 1.50 crore through court orders,” stated Pronab Mohanty, Director General of Police, Cyber Command, Bengaluru.

Digital arrest is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officers, court officials or personnel from government agencies to intimidate victims through audio and video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay money (With PTI inputs)