The ordeal began for the victims on November 13, when the elderly woman, a resident of Basheerbagh, received a phone call from a man claiming to be an employee of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
The Hyderabad cybercrime police helped three citizens who were victims of cyber frauds to recover stolen funds through cyber attacks. A total amount of Rs. 44, 84,527 was refunded to the three victims.
According to the police, the woman received a call from an individual, who claimed to be a TRAI agent, and informed that her phone number was linked to a police case, related to online harassment, booked in Mumbai.
According to the Hyderabad Cybercrime police, the victim, aged around 55 years, was charged of involvement in money laundering and threatened of arrest by the fraudsters.
The fraudster called the person over WhatsApp video call and informed that a bank account was opened on his name and it was used for money laundering purpose.
"There is no system like digital arrest in the law, this is just fraud, deceit, lie, a gang of criminals and those who are doing this are enemies of the society," the PM cautioned
These scams follow a specific modus operandi in which fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials and use video calls to convince victims that they are involved in criminal activities and must answer to the law. Out of fear of repercussions, victims often succumb to the empty threats of these scammers.
Putting the victim under fear that her mobile number was being misused by cyber fraudsters and thus she was also booked for a money laundering and would be arrested for the same, they made her transfer the money into their bank accounts.
'Digital arrest' is a new method of cyber fraud, in which the fraudsters scare people by making audio or video calls by posing as law enforcement officers
“There is nothing like digital arrest in the law. If anybody tells you that you are digitally arrested, please report it to the cyber crime wing or the nearest police station immediately,” he advised
