Kolkata Digital Arrest Scam: Elderly Academic Loses Over Rs 7 Lakh
Kolkata: Another case of digital arrest scam, worth more than Rs 7 lakh, has been reported from the Phoolbagan area in eastern suburban Kolkata. The victim is a senior resident from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, who had come to Kolkata to visit relatives, said police.
The elderly academic arrived in the city in early May for summer vacations. She fell prey to an organized cyber fraud syndicate that placed her under digital arrest for nearly three days before siphoning off her life savings by forcing her to withdraw her fixed deposits.
According to police, the ordeal began on the evening of June 10, when the victim received a call from an unknown mobile number. The caller, masquerading as an official from Mumbai Police Headquarters, falsely informed her that her Aadhaar number had been used to purchase illegal SIM cards involved in severe crimes, including money laundering and human trafficking.
To escalate the panic, the fraudsters alleged that a private bank account opened in her name had clocked suspicious transactions worth approximately Rs 2 crore. The victim was told her mobile phone was being tapped and that she would immediately be transferred to CBI officials. She was subsequently contacted by another accomplice who coerced her into staying on a continuous phone call for 48 to 72 hours, completely isolating her from her family.
The next morning, a caller posing as a senior CBI officer contacted her via another number and sent forged, fraudulent Government of India documents to convince her of the severity of the investigation. Exploiting her fear, the scammers claimed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had generated a secret code to facilitate a secure transfer of her entire wealth for verification. They provided a fraudulent letter containing the bank details of a corporate entity, TSVK Real Estate Pvt Ltd, held with a second private sector bank.
Worried and under immense psychological duress, the senior citizen rushed to a branch of her own bank in Kolkata, broke her fixed deposits, and transferred the entire sum to the designated mule account. While a probe has been initiated to trace the digital footprint of the mule accounts, recovery remains a steep challenge given the significant time lapse, claimed police.
The banking institutions have expressed inability to reverse the voluntary transactions, leaving the academic deeply disheartened and financially devastated.
How to Stay Safe from Digital Arrest Scams
Authorities advise citizens to remain vigilant and never share personal or financial information over the phone. Genuine law enforcement agencies do not demand money or threaten digital arrest. Always verify through official channels before taking any action.
