Kolkata: A 68-year-old resident of Dum Dum Park fell victim to digital arrest, losing his retirement savings of Rs 1.1 crore to scamsters who posed as CBI personnel and judges. The fraud occurred over six days from July 10 to 16, days before a Kalyani court sentenced nine such fraudsters to life imprisonment in a separate case. The victim had received a call from individuals claiming to be from the telecom regulatory authority, who alleged an unauthorized mobile number was registered in the victim’s name and was being used for illegal activities. The call was then transferred to supposed Mumbai cops, who initiated a WhatsApp video call. The fraudsters accused the senior citizen of operating an account at Canara Bank, Mumbai, which they claimed was linked to the Naresh Goyal fraud case. They alleged the account had received Rs 2 crore obtained fraudulently from 24 people.Despite the victim’s protests that he hadn’t visited Mumbai in 15 years and had no connection to the account, the scamsters escalated the pressure by transferring the call to individuals posing as CBI and ED officers. The perpetrators maintained continuous video calls, even through the night. The following day, another person posing as an SC judge, demanded verification of all bank accounts and insisted on court fee deposits from the victim. The fraudsters systematically collected details of the couple’s financial holdings, including fixed deposits. They then coerced the victim into making five RTGS transfers totalling Rs 1.1 crore. The case has been registered with the cyber police station of Bidhannagar City Police, who started a probe.
