24-year-old man arrested for duping elderly widow of Rs 1.1 crore in digital arrest fraud in Mumbai

A 76-year-old widow living in Mumbai was allegedly targeted in a digital arrest scam, losing Rs 1.18 crore. According to reports, the senior citizen received a phone call from an unknown individual posing as a Crime Branch employee. The caller falsely accused her of aiding terrorists and stated that a money laundering case had been filed against her. Investigators said the fraud was carried out through video calls, during which the scammers kept the victim under digital arrest and warned her not to disclose the matter to anyone.

The terrified woman was instructed to transfer her life savings to various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters under the guise of an inquiry, with the promise that her money would be returned afterward. She eventually confided in her daughter, who recognized that a crime had occurred and assisted her in reporting the incident to the Cyber Police.

Following an investigation, the Cyber Police arrested a 24-year-old man who was identified as a beneficiary of a portion of the defrauded funds. Authorities stated that the arrested individual admitted to transferring the money further to other cyber criminals in exchange for a commission.