New Delhi: Another digital arrest scam has surfaced, this time from Mumbai. A retired BMC official was allegedly duped of Rs 16.50 lakh, by cyber fraudsters
posing as NIA and ATS officials. They reportedly put him under “digital arrest” and “interrogated” him. The victim was told that his name had surfaced in the Delhi blast probe.
Victim accused of money laundering
The incident which dates back to December, came to light on Monday, when the victim approached the West Region Cyber Police Station, with a complaint. He is a resident of Andheri in Mumbai.
Talking about the incident, the police said that the victim was first contacted on December 11 through a call. The caller identified himself as an official from the Delhi Anti-Terrorism Department. The caller told the victim that his name had appeared in the Delhi blast probe and that he needs to be ‘interrogated’ secretly.
The caller then asked him to download an app, ‘Signal’ on his mobile phone. The victim received a video call through this app, from a person who identified as Sadanand Date. He said that he was an NIA officer and he would be personally interrogating him. The victim was then told that a bank account linked to him had received Rs 7 crore and accused him of being involved in money laundering activities, reported PTI. He was also threatened with arrest.
The caller also warned the victim saying that the issue was of national security and hence he should not discuss it with anyone. He was then asked to transfer money to different bank accounts, which they said would help them “verify, whether his income was from legal sources.”
The victim said that he deposited Rs 16.50 lakh to various bank accounts, following which the caller blocked his number.
Police begin investigations
The man only realised that he had been duped, after losing a huge part of his savings. He then approached the cyber crime branch of the Mumbai Police. A complaint was registered against unidentified persons.
The police are carrying out investigations in the matter and hope to catch the culprits soon. So far no arrests has been made. They are also trying to contact all the banks, in whose accounts the money was transferred and hope to recover the victim’s money.
