The incident occurred in early August in northeast Delhi. The PTI report quoted Joy Tirkey, deputy commissioner of police (Northeast), as saying: “A complaint was received from an NDMC employee that his wife had received a call from an unknown number and the callers identified themselves as officers of the CBI Criminal Police.”
The three fraudsters – Raju Ray (29), Guddu Kumar Sharma (29) and Pappu Kumar (22) – all residents of Bihar, were arrested, it said.
How the fraud took place
According to the report, the victim received a call from the scammers informing her about her husband’s arrest in a rape case. They demanded Rs 200,000 for his release and also threatened to make the matter public in case of non-payment.
Fearing the loss, the woman allegedly transferred Rs 200,000 to two bank accounts specified by the fraudsters. The DCP said the fraudsters did not allow her to end the call for about six hours.
A case has been registered against the accused. Based on intelligence inputs and technical surveillance, raids were conducted in different parts of Bihar and the trio were nabbed, the official said.
What is a digital arrest?
Digital arrest is a tactic of Cybercriminals Nowadays, they lock their victims in their homes to defraud them. The scammers generally pose as police officers and use voices generated by artificial intelligence (AI) to deceive citizens.
Some safety tips are:
- Be careful of unwanted calls and messages: Do not give out personal or financial information to unknown callers or use unverified links.
- Verify the authenticity of requests: If you receive unexpected requests for money or personal information, verify the information through official channels.
- Stay informed: Stay up to date on the latest cyber threats and scams by participating in awareness programs or reading online resources.
