Retired Army Captain Loses ₹65 Lakh in 38-Day Cyber Heist Due to Fear of Digital Arrest

Retired Army Captain Loses ₹65 Lakh to Sophisticated Cyber Scam

A 75-year-old retired army captain, Nandan Singh, was swindled out of approximately ₹65 lakh over the course of 38 days by cyber fraudsters who employed a sophisticated social engineering scam.

The Scam

The scam began when Singh received a call from an international number, with the caller claiming to be “Kuldeep”, a man who had previously rented a room in Singh’s house. The caller told Singh that he was returning to India from abroad and wanted to transfer money to Singh’s account. Singh, trusting the caller’s identity, shared his wife’s bank details with him.

Soon after, the caller claimed that he had sent the funds and asked Singh to pay ₹4 lakh to a visa agent. Singh was instructed to transfer the money through a nearby shop, as he did not use online banking. Over the next few days, the scammers continued to demand money from Singh, using various pretexts, including an alleged airport altercation that resulted in a heavy penalty.

The Investigation

The scam continued for around 38 days, until Singh finally refused to make any further payments. At this point, another caller contacted him, posing as an officer from Mumbai Cyber Crime, and threatened him with a “digital arrest” if he did not pay ₹4.70 lakh to close the case. Frightened, Singh contacted his daughter, who advised him to stop all payments and dial the cyber helpline 1930. A complaint was then lodged at the Dwarka Cyber Police Station.

Investigations revealed that the scammers had routed the money through a local shop into multiple bank accounts. The use of several beneficiary accounts and an international calling number has led police to suspect the involvement of a cross-border cyber fraud network. Authorities are currently examining the KYC details of the recipient accounts, transaction trails, call detail records, and the role of the shop operator.

Warning to Citizens

Cyber experts have described the case as a classic hybrid social engineering scam, combining known-person impersonation, fake bank credit alerts, tax demands, and law enforcement threats. Elderly individuals are often targeted in such scams due to their limited digital familiarity and higher likelihood of complying with authority-based pressure.

Police have urged citizens to remain alert against claims of overseas remittances requiring tax or customs payments, bank slips shared on messaging apps, and video calls from impersonators posing as police officers threatening “digital arrest”. In case of any suspicious transaction or call, people are advised to immediately contact the national cyber helpline 1930 or report the matter to the nearest cyber police station.

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Vaibhav

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