Noida: Following a report from a 77-year-old man who claimed he faced cyber fraud of ₹3.14 crore after being digitally detained for more than two weeks until March 12, the cybercrime branch announced on Friday that they have sent two teams to Assam and West Bengal to track down the suspects involved.
“The teams were dispatched to nab the suspects who provided their bank accounts to the cybercriminals,” said an officer, part of the investigation.
According to police, the victim received a call from an unknown number on February 25, during which the scammers falsely accused him of being involved in money laundering and placed him under arrest. A case has been filed under various sections for extortion, impersonation, and fraud as per the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act at the cybercrime branch on Wednesday, and an investigation is currently in progress, officials stated.
“We were informed that the elderly man visited the bank around seven times in 16 days and transferred the entire amount to five bank accounts operational in Assam and West Bengal,” said cybercrime branch station house officer Ranjeet Singh.
“The cybercriminals transferred the amount to multiple bank accounts. We are identifying the money trail from five accounts to others. We have managed to freeze ₹39 lakh out of ₹3.14 crore. As the investigation progresses, we expect to freeze more amounts,” the officer added.
The victim, who chose to remain anonymous, is a retired executive from a government-owned insurance company and resides with his elderly wife in a high-rise building in Sector 75. Their children live abroad.
“When the elderly couple came to the cybercrime branch police station in Sector 36, they refused to believe that the officers over video calls were cybercriminals. They believed it was a genuine process and their money would be returned. During the digital arrest, his wife believed that her husband would be safe following the online interrogation,” said a senior officer.
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