Surat: A 38-year-old city resident allegedly lost Rs 13 lakh after cyberfraudsters posing as officials from the Mumbai Police cyber cell, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Supreme Court allegedly trapped him in an elaborate ‘digital arrest’ scam.According to the FIR registered at the Cybercrime police station, the victim and his wife were allegedly kept under ‘digital arrest’ for six days and forced to transfer the money to accounts specified by the accused.The victim, who works as a computer operator, received a call from an unknown number on Jan 10. The caller allegedly claimed that a sim card issued in Maharashtra in the victim’s name was being used for illegal activities and that an FIR had been registered against him.The fraudsters then escalated the threat, claiming that his bank account had been linked to a money laundering case involving Naresh Goyal, the founder of the now defunct Jet Airways. They told him that an arrest warrant had been issued against him and threatened to arrest him if he failed to cooperate with their ‘investigation’.The victim was subsequently allegedly forced to remain on continuous video calls with the fraudsters, who introduced themselves as officials from various govt agencies. They reportedly sent forged letters bearing the names and designations of officials and claimed that the victim’s bank accounts and investments were under scrutiny.The accused instructed the victim to sell shares held in his and his wife’s demat accounts and transfer the proceeds to bank accounts provided by them for ‘verification’. The FIR states that the victim transferred substantial amounts through multiple transactions believing that the money would later be returned,To make their claims appear credible, the accused allegedly used the identities and names of purported officials from the Mumbai crime branch, CBI, RBI and Supreme Court. They also sent documents and messages via WhatsApp to reinforce the deception.The victim eventually became suspicious when the callers continued demanding more money and threatening him with arrest. He finally approached the police and registered a case.
