Sr citizen loses 4.4 crore in digi-arrest scam

Kolkata: A 65-year-old resident of Regent Park was allegedly swindled out of nearly Rs 4.4 crore in a digital arrest scam. Police have been able to recover Rs 1.5 crore in connection with this fraud. The victim, a retired bank employee, received a phone call on April 1 from individuals posing as TRAI officials, claiming that his mobile number was linked to illegal international telecom routing and suspicious financial transactions. The cybercriminals then transferred the calls to fake CBI investigators through WhatsApp video links.To convince the victim, the crooks sent forged legal documents. These papers—complete with replicated govt insignia, fake case numbers, and forged signatures—falsely implicated the senior citizen in an international money laundering operation. Over the next few days, the fraudsters kept the victim under continuous video surveillance under the pretext of "online judicial custody." They threatened to freeze his assets and arrest him if he disconnected the call. The victim was then coerced into transferring Rs 4.4 crore into several bank accounts provided by the accused.The callers then falsely assured him that the fund transfer was a security verification process and that the entire amount would be safely reverted to his account upon the completion of the ‘investigation'. The fraud finally came to light when the victim's relatives verified that the callers were part of a massive cyber syndicate scam.The Kolkata Police Cyber Cell has officially registered an FIR and initiated a probe to trace the digital footprint of the accused and freeze the recipient bank accounts. The case has been filed under Sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act, 2000, read alongside sections under the BNS, 2023, including criminal conspiracy, extortion, cheating, and forgery.