Elderly man duped of Rs 3.72 cr in 'virtual arrest' scam in Kerala's Kollam

The police on Saturday said that it has launched an investigation into the loss of Rs 3.72 crore by an elderly man in a 'virtual arrest' cyber fraud case in this south Kerala district.

The Kollam City Cyber Police registered a case on Tuesday based on the complaint of a 79-year-old resident of Padanayarkulangara here.

'Virtual arrest' is a cyber scam in which fraudsters impersonate police or enforcement agency officials and threaten victims through WhatsApp video calls, claiming they are booked in criminal cases.

According to police, the victim received a WhatsApp call on July 7 from a person who introduced himself as a BSNL official.

He claimed that the victim's mobile number was under the scrutiny of the Mumbai Cyber Police for its alleged use in illegal activities.

Subsequently, another person, appearing on a WhatsApp video call in police uniform, introduced himself as a Mumbai Cyber Police officer.

He alleged that a bank account had been fraudulently opened using the victim's Aadhaar details and was being misused for criminal activities, a police officer said.

"The fraudsters showed the victim a fake arrest warrant and claimed that he was under ‘virtual arrest'. Later, the victim was asked to appear before a virtual court via video call. He was granted bail by the virtual court with the condition that he remained under the continuous surveillance of the investigating officer by keeping the WhatsApp call active," a police officer said.

The victim was further threatened that non-compliance would result in his bank accounts being frozen and his properties being seized, the police said.

Later, the fraudsters convinced him that he would be acquitted if he verified his bank accounts. As part of the ‘verification,' he was asked to transfer funds from his and his wife's accounts to bank accounts provided by the accused.

The police officer said that, believing the claims, the victim transferred Rs 3.72 crore in 17 transactions between July 23 and August 29.

He realised he had been cheated only after the money was not returned.

The Kollam Cyber Police have registered a case under sections 318(2), 318(4), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act.

The bank accounts to which the money was transferred have been traced, and efforts are being made to freeze them, police added.