A Retired IAF Officer Defrauded with ₹1 Cr Placed Under Digital Arrest
A Retired IAF Officer Defrauded with ₹1 Cr Placed Under Digital Arrest
Noida, U.P.: Cybercriminals allegedly defrauded a former Indian Air Force officer in the city of more than ₹1 crore by impersonating Mumbai police, the CBI, and the telecom regulatory authority to trick him into thinking he was connected to a money laundering investigation.
The former IAF officer claimed in his complaint, which was submitted to the Cyber Crime police station on Monday, that he was called on May 17 by someone posing as a representative of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller informed him that the Union Finance Ministry had detected a financial offense connected to his identification.
The scammers used video calls to link the complainant to persons posing as Mumbai’s Colaba police station officers in order to exert pressure on him. The impersonators, some of whom were in uniform, verified false accusations. They threatened rapid arrest and asset seizure and provided bogus paperwork on ministry letterheads.
After that, the scammers put the former service member under continual camera surveillance, which stopped him from communicating with anyone. He was forced to transfer more than ₹1 crore to six other bank accounts under psychological pressure.
The victim became aware of the fraud on June 13 and went to the police.
In addition to Section 66D of the IT Act, a case was filed under BNS Sections 308(2) (extortion), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating), and 336(3) (forgery). Although no arrests have been made as of yet, police stated that the case is still being investigated.
Police have retrieved around ₹53 crore that was stolen in a number of digital fraud instances over the past 17 months. They have also detained 553 scammers since January 2024, most of whom are from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Police have been regularly recovering more than ₹3 crore every month, working closely with bank officials and other stakeholders, DCP (cyber) Preeti Yadav previously told TOI. Of the total sum collected, ₹27.9 crore came from formal FIRs, and ₹25 crore came from complaints submitted on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
About the Author:
Yogesh Naager is a content marketer who specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blogs, he also writes for brands including Craw Security, Bytecode Security, and NASSCOM.
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