Punjab Police Nabs 2 From Assam For 'Digital Arrest' Cyber Fraud; Victim Duped Of ₹76 Lakhs

Chandigarh: Punjab police’s Cybercrime Division on Monday claimed to have busted an inter-state gang involved in digital arrest cyber fraud with the arrest of two Assam-based persons for their involvement in this fraud.

Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said those arrested have been identified as Najrul Ali and Midul Ali, both residents of Kamrup in Assam.

`Digital Arrest’ refers to a cyber scam where fraudsters, posing as law enforcement officials, deceive victims into believing they have committed a serious crime and must stay visible online until their demands are met, exploiting fear to extort money.

The case came to light when a 76-years-old retired government officer lodged a complaint with the state Cybercrime Division that some people claiming to be from the Mumbai Cyber Crime had duped him of Rs 76 lakhs by putting him under Digital Arrest via WhatsApp call.

The caller accused the victim of conniving with a criminal indulged in money laundering and also claimed that a subpoena had been issued on his name by the Bombay High Court. The fraud caller impersonating as a police official from Mumbai Cybercrime gave him account numbers from different banks and directed him to deposit money in the said banks to clear him of the charges. As directed, the victim deposited Rs 76 lakhs in different bank accounts.

DGP Yadav said that following the complaint, the State Cyber Crime Division immediately registered a first information report (FIR) and started investigations into this case.

He said that investigation has revealed the interstate linkages of the arrested accused in other cyber frauds as the bank account belonging to the arrested accused suggested their involvement in at least 11 other Cyber fraud cases spread across seven states in which around Rs 15 crores have been scammed from the victims.

The DGP said that during the investigation, information obtained regarding banks accounts, WhatsApp accounts, and mobile numbers of the cyber fraudsters revealed that the gang has been running their operation from the remote districts of Assam. The investigation of IP Logs provided by WhatsApp and Skype also revealed that these fake threat calls originated from Cambodia and Hong Kong, he added.

Sharing operation details, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Cybercrime Division V Neeraja said that a team from Police Station State Cyber Crime, Punjab arrested both the accused persons from Kamrup district of Assam.