Mumbai woman made to strip on video call, scammed of Rs 1.7 lakh in digital arrest fraud | Crime News
A 26-year-old woman in Mumbai was scammed of Rs 1.7 lakh by fraudsters posing as Delhi Police officers, who threatened her with “digital arrest” and forced her to strip during a video call. The case, involving a fake money laundering probe, has been registered with the police.
A 26-year-old woman in Mumbai was scammed of Rs 1.7 lakh by fraudsters posing as Delhi Police officers, who threatened her with “digital arrest” and forced her to strip during a video call.
Mumbai: In a shocking case of digital arrest fraud, a 26-year-old woman from Mumbai fell victim to a scam in which she was forced to strip during a video call and was duped of Rs 1.7 lakh.
The fraudsters posed as Delhi Police officers and falsely claimed that her name had come up in a money laundering investigation linked to Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways, who is currently in jail.
How scammers conned Mumbai woman
The woman, who lives in Borivali East and works in the pharmaceutical industry, reported the incident to the police on November 28. According to her complaint, the scam began on November 19 when the fraudsters called her and introduced themselves as officials from the Delhi Police.
They told her that they were investigating a money laundering case related to Naresh Goyal, and her name had come up during the investigation. The fraudsters threatened her with arrest, which led to a shift in the conversation to a video call. They told her that she was under “digital arrest.”
The fraudsters continued their manipulation, demanding that the woman book a hotel room for the interrogation to continue. After she checked into the hotel, they told her she needed to transfer Rs 1,78,000 to verify her bank account details.
In addition, they instructed her to strip during the video call for “body verification.” Believing the scammers, the woman transferred the money and followed their instructions, as reported by NDTV.
It was only after realizing she had been deceived that the woman contacted the police and filed her complaint. The authorities have since registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhit and the Information Technology Act. An investigation is currently underway to catch the perpetrators.
This is not the first case involving scammers using the name of Naresh Goyal to trick people. In a similar incident, Shri Paul Oswal, the chairman of the Vardhman Group, was duped of Rs 7 crore by fraudsters who also told him that he was under “digital arrest.”
What is digital arrest?
“Digital arrest” is a type of scam where fraudsters inform the victim that they are under a “digital” or “virtual” arrest. They tell the victim that they must stay connected to the scammers through a video or audio call and cannot inform anyone about the situation until they transfer money to the fraudster’s account. Despite police warnings, many people, particularly senior citizens who may not be familiar with technology, have fallen prey to these scams.
In recent months, however, the scam has started targeting younger adults as well. Police have been issuing advisories to educate the public that “digital arrest” is a fraudulent concept and does not exist.
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