Faridabad: Cyber fraudsters conned an elderly man in the Sector-22 area by keeping him under “digital arrest” for four days, swindling ₹33.56 lakh. The fraudsters intimidated him with threats of arrest, sending him to three different banks to break his fixed deposits (FDs) and transfer the funds via RTGS.
The victim only realized he was being scammed when the money was not returned as promised. The Cyber Crime Police Station, NIT, has registered an FIR in the case.
The 80-year-old victim, Shiv Prakash Sharma, a retired private-sector employee, reported the incident. He received a call on January 9 informing him that his mobile services would be deactivated within two hours.
When he inquired further, the caller claimed multiple complaints had been filed against him at Tilak Nagar Police Station in Mumbai. The call was then “transferred” to someone posing as the police, who conducted a video call and instructed him to sit alone in a locked room. The fraudsters threatened him with arrest to instill fear.
According to Sharma, the fraudsters claimed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) needed to verify transactions in his accounts. They demanded he transfer the funds in his accounts for verification.
They also inquired about his FDs, claiming it was part of the investigation. Shockingly, the scammers already had detailed information about his bank accounts.
Under pressure, the elderly man was coerced into visiting the bank for four consecutive days, transferring money to the accounts provided by the fraudsters. They even instructed him to tell bank officials that he needed the money urgently if questioned about breaking his FDs.
The case highlights the growing menace of cybercrime targeting vulnerable individuals, and investigations are underway to identify and apprehend the fraudsters.
