Faridabad man duped of Rs 81-lakh in cyber scam

A 68-year-old man from Ballabgarh in Faridabad has been duped of Rs 81 lakh by cybercriminals who ‘digitally arrested’ him for five days. The fraudsters, posing as officials from the police, CBI and Department of Telecommunications, accused the victim of involvement in money laundering and human trafficking. They coerced him into transferring money in two instalments. An FIR has been registered at Ballabgarh police station.

According to the complaint filed by Vishnupad Chatterjee, a resident of Sector 7D, he received a call at 2.29 pm on October 14, followed by WhatsApp voice and video calls from multiple numbers over the next five days.

“The fraudsters posed as officers from the Department of Telecommunications, the DCP of Bengaluru and the CBI of Mumbai. They accused me of being involved in illegal activities such as money laundering and human trafficking. They claimed that a case had been filed against me and that I was being digitally arrested. They kept me on video calls for five days, threatening and forcing me to make the payment. A payment of Rs 51 lakh was made on October 16 and a second payment of Rs 30 lakh via RTGS on October 17. After this, I filed a complaint with the cybercrime helpline on October 19,” the victim said in his statement.

“Following the complaint, an FIR has been registered. A probe is underway and the accused will be arrested soon,” said a spokesperson of Faridabad police.