Kolkata: A 23-year-old woman from north Kolkata lost Rs 1.2 lakh to a digital arrest fraud. According to police, the ordeal began on Sept 27 when the woman, a resident of Jorabagan, received a phone call from an unknown number.The caller identified himself as an officer attached to the Kolkata Police Police Headquarters, Lalbazar, and claimed that her mobile number had been flagged in connection with explicit adult content hosted on illicit websites. The scammer warned her that a criminal case was being registered against her.Over the next two days, the extortionists concocted various legal pretexts, insisting that additional transfers were mandatory to stop formal arrest warrants from being issued. Exhausted and intimidated by the ongoing threats, the woman made a series of transactions, transferring a total sum of Rs 1.2 lakh to bank accounts specified by the callers.The scam came to light after the woman confided in her relatives and realized she had been targeted fraudsters. She subsequently lodged a formal complaint with the Jorabagan police on Oct 4. Based on her complaint, the police have initiated an investigation, and a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act.
