IIT Bombay Student Loses ₹7.29 Lakh in 'Digital Arrest' Scam

New Delhi(The Uttam Hindu): A 25-year-old student was cheated of ₹7.29 lakh by a new variety of cybercrime called "digital arrest," the police said on Tuesday. The incident, which happened in July when the student received a call from an unknown number. The caller, claiming to be an employee of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, (TRAI), told the victim that 17 complaints have been lodged against his mobile number for illegal activities, requesting immediate payment to avert the deactivation of his phone.

After that, the caller connected the victim to another person who was posing as a police officer through a WhatsApp video call. This fake officer accused the student of engaging in money laundering and compelled him to transfer ₹29,500 through UPI. The scammer threatened the victim with "digital arrest" and asked him not to contact anyone.

Two days down the line, it's claimed that the fraudsters returned requesting more money. But they had already got their unsuspecting victim's bank details into their system and extracted a whopping ₹7 lakh without his knowledge. In all this, they informed the student that he wasn't going to be put in some jail. It has already been reported to the cops for investigation after the young guy did some online work in the matter.