Senior citizen escapes after 8 days of digital arrest near Kolkata

In a planned fraud operation, carried out under the guise of a ‘digital arrest,’ an international fraud ring targeted a retired employee of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, setting a trap for him. Having sensed the danger, the 65-year-old man, a resident of Howrah near Kolkata managed to escape and saved Rs 28 lakhs in his bank account by rushing to the police station while still on a video call with the fraudsters. He was saved because of prompt action by the Howrah Cyber Crime.

According to police sources, the retired employee, a resident of Howrah’s Malipanchghara police station area, received a phone call on January 20 informing him that his phone number had been used in multiple fraudulent activities in Maharashtra. He was threatened with arrest on these charges. He was then brought onto a video call, where fraudsters posing as Mumbai Crime Branch officers continuously pressured him under the pretext of a ‘digital arrest.’

They even claimed that the case had reached the Supreme Court to further instill fear in the victim. Believing the words of the fraudsters, the senior citizen broke his fixed deposits in three banks and transferred approximately 28 lakh rupees to his own account.

On Wednesday, he was being pressured to transfer the money by fraudsters over a video call. However, he grew suspicious from their words and quickly planned of a way to escape. Leaving his mobile phone at home while the video call was still ongoing, the elderly man rushed to the nearby Malipanchghara police station.

The cybercrime branch immediately took action. His mobile SIM card was quickly removed, and the UPI details of his three bank accounts were changed. As a result, the fraudsters were unable to steal the money from his account. An officer from the Howrah City Police Cyber Crime unit stated that this fraud ring was likely operating from Cambodia.