In a shocking case from Jabalpur, a 72-year-old man was systematically defrauded of his entire life savings, amounting to Rs 76 lakh, by criminals posing as top police officials. The elaborate scam, which authorities describe as a meticulously staged psychological operation, exploited the victim's fear under the guise of a national security mission.
The Elaborate Trap Unfolds
The ordeal for Anil Kumar Nanhourya, a resident of Sanjeevani Nagar, began on November 22. He received a call from an individual claiming to be from the Department of Telecom. The caller alleged that a SIM card registered in Nanhourya's name was being used to threaten people and that a case had been filed at a police station in Delhi.
Frightened by the accusation, the elderly man was offered a solution: to give an online statement before a senior officer. This was the first step into a tightly choreographed trap. He was directed to call a specific number, where he was connected to a man identifying himself as IPS Officer Vijay Kumar.
The Psychological Grip Tightens
To make the threat seem real, the fraudster engaged in a video call, displaying fabricated case documents. He falsely claimed that Nanhourya's name had emerged in a CBI human-trafficking investigation after an ATM card with his name was allegedly found with a kingpin named Sadaqat Khan.
The scammers then sent a forged Supreme Court letter via WhatsApp, cementing the victim's terror. They declared the matter a secret national security mission, warning him that disclosing anything to anyone would result in three years in jail and a Rs 5 lakh fine. To maintain complete psychological control, they instructed him to send his location and activities on WhatsApp every three hours, effectively placing him under a form of digital arrest.
The Final Blow and Aftermath
In a subsequent video call, the conmen informed Nanhourya that an arrest warrant and seizure order had been issued in his name. They claimed that only a priority investigation approved by a senior CBI officer could save him. The final instruction was the most devastating: he was told to break all his fixed deposits and transfer the entire sum into his own SBI account, so it could be moved to a Supreme Court account for verification.
Terrified and convinced he was avoiding legal action, the 72-year-old complied. Within hours, his entire savings of Rs 76 lakh was siphoned out of his account into another account controlled by the fraudsters. The Jabalpur Crime Branch has registered a case and is searching for the perpetrators behind what is being called one of the city's most sophisticated cyber-frauds.
Expert Insight: A Form of 'Psychological Arrest'
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Satyakant Trivedi explained the profound psychological impact of such scams. He described them as a form of psychological arrest, where fraudsters seize control over a person's mind.
Human survival instincts are built around fear and insecurity, Dr. Trivedi told TOI. Cyber-fraudsters exploit this insecurity to psychologically overpower the victim. Once a person becomes anxious and unable to think clearly, the scammers manipulate them—whether to transfer money or comply with other demands.
This case bears a disturbing resemblance to a recent incident in Bhopal, where a senior advocate died by suicide after receiving a call from cyber-criminals who claimed his bank account was being used to fund terrorists.
