Digit-hell: 73-year-old loses Rs 53 lakh to cyber scamsters

NEW DELHI: A 73-year-old retired govt official was allegedly scammed out of Rs 53 lakh after being digitally "arrested" by fraudsters posing as officials from Hyderabad cybercrime department and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The scammers accused the elderly woman of being involved in serious criminal activities, including drug and weapons trafficking and a money laundering case. Over five harrowing days, she was manipulated into transferring her life savings, fearing severe consequences.

The incident took place in Paschim Vihar.

On Jan 11, around 10.25am, she received a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer from Hyderabad cybercrime department. The caller informed her that a case had been filed against her, accusing her of selling drugs and weapons to criminals. He even provided a bogus file number and threatened her with a digital arrest warrant, ordering her to report to Hyderabad within two hours to clear her name.

The complaint states the woman explained to them that travelling from Delhi to Hyderabad was impossible for her. The scammer then intensified the pressure, claiming she was also implicated in a money laundering case.

"He falsely stated that the mastermind behind the money laundering operation had been arrested and that 153 of the 157 accomplices had confessed, implicating the woman as well. He claimed that someone had transferred Rs 3 crore into a bank account opened in her name in Hyderabad," the complaint said.

The scammer further warned that CBI would soon scrutinise all her bank accounts. To add credibility, he connected her to another person posing as a senior CBI official handling the investigation. The second scammer advised her to cooperate to clear her name quickly, citing her status as a senior citizen.

She was then instructed to communicate with the so-called CBI official via WhatsApp. The scammer called her multiple times from different numbers, warning that the case was a "national secret" and that sharing details with anyone would put her life in danger.

He claimed that CBI had assigned her "Alpha Team" security and ordered her to keep her phone on and charged at all times for continuous communication.

The scammers further manipulated her by claiming that several influential people, including bank employees, politicians, and police officers, were involved in the case. She was instructed not to trust anyone and to transfer her fixed deposit funds into specific accounts provided by the fraudsters.

They told her that she would be given access to a "super-secret account" where she had to deposit the money online, police said.

For five days, the scammers maintained constant contact with her through video and phone calls, keeping her in fear. Feeling trapped, she complied with their demands and transferred her money without informing her family.

Finally, on Jan 15, she spoke to her bank manager, who immediately recognised the scam and informed her that she had been defrauded. A case was filed with police, but by then, she had already lost Rs 53 lakh-her entire life savings.


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