A case of cyber fraud has been reported in Lucknow where an elderly man was kept under pressure for several days and cheated of his life savings. The matter came to light after the complainant informed the police about repeated threats and continuous monitoring through phone calls and video calls which caused fear and mental distress.
The complaint was filed at the Cyber Crime Police Station in Lucknow by Rajendra Prakash Verma who lives in the Gomtinagar area. On December 13, 2025, he received calls from people claiming to be officials of the NIA and ATS. They falsely told him that his bank accounts were linked to terror funding and warned that he would be arrested. To keep him under control, they stayed in constant contact through calls and video links calling it “digital arrest” and prevented him from contacting others for seven days.
Due to mental pressure the victim transferred ₹54.60 lakh in the name of “investigation”. The amount was sent to two bank accounts linked to IndusInd Bank and Bank of Baroda. When he began to doubt the calls, he approached the police on December 19. The investigation showed that the money was first sent to mule accounts and then withdrawn and moved through several transactions to hide the trail before being transferred abroad using cryptocurrency.
Based on bank records and technical tracking, police arrested four accused from different areas of Lucknow. Police said the arrested persons handled mule accounts and passed on the money. The main operator of the gang is based in Thailand and coordinated the fraud while receiving the money after taking commission. Investigators believe the gang has around twelve members and some suspects may be operating from Bahraich and Shravasti. Items recovered include five mobile phones, ₹25,234 in cash, five debit cards, one PAN card and one Aadhaar card. Police reminded the public that no law enforcement agency carries out investigations through video calls or asks for money transfers and advised people to report such calls immediately.
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