Fake Judges, Court Hearings: UP Man Loses Rs 1 Crore In Digital Arrest Fraud
Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested seven men who allegedly impersonated officials from the ED and the CBI to "digitally arrest" a Shahjahanpur resident and swindle more than Rs one crore through a fabricated online court proceeding, an official said.
The gang's modus operandi involved convincing the victim, 60-year-old Sharad Chand, that he was under investigation for an alleged illegal transaction of Rs 2.8 crore, the officer said.
The fraudsters allegedly first contacted him via phone on May 6, posing as ED and CBI officers. Then they escalated the deception by impersonating a judge and conducting fake virtual hearings through WhatsApp for almost a month, according to the police.
Digital arrest is a term used in cyber frauds where victims are falsely told they are under surveillance or legal custody through digital means. They are often isolated via continuous video or call surveillance by fraudsters posing as officials, and manipulated into following instructions without alerting others - often leading to extortion or fraud.
Shahjahanpur Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi told PTI that during these "virtual hearings", fake lawyers and judges allegedly intimidated Chand, ultimately coercing him into transferring Rs 1.04 crore across 40 bank accounts belonging to nine alleged "advocates." The victim, associated with an NGO, did not inform anyone at the time of the "digital arrest" but reported the matter to the police once he realised that he had been conned.
During the investigation, police discovered suspicious transactions of Rs nine crore in a bank account linked to the case. That account is also under scrutiny, Dwivedi said.
Those arrested have been identified as Sachin, Prashant, Gautam Singh, Sandeep Kumar, Syed Saif, Aryan Sharma, and Pawan Yadav - all aged between 20 and 28 years.
They have been booked under sections 318 (cheating), 319 (cheating by impersonation), 204 (impersonating a government official) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and sections 66(c) and 66(d) of the IT Act. All have been sent to jail, the police added.
Uttar Pradesh Police has cautioned citizens against cyber frauds like digital arrest and asked them to report any such experiences to their nearest police station or on the dedicated helpline number 1530.
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