Retired govt employee loses ₹1.2 cr in 'virtual arrest' cyber scam, police start probe
After the scammers returned the money that the government employee had, he went to the police, who filed a report and were able to freeze almost ₹35 lakh from the bank accounts that received the money. The fraudsters took out the remaining sum.
Following a 'virtual arrest' cyber fraud in which a retired federal government employee from Vengola in the Ernakulam district lost ₹1.2 crore, a probe has been opened. In the 'virtual arrest' scam, cybercriminals pose as law enforcement officials, reach out to victims via the internet, and assert that the victim has been charged with a crime.
Then, if the victim doesn't comply with their demands, they threaten to arrest them right away online. Police say the most recent case was reported on August 22 at the Ernakulam Rural Cyber police station.
According to the report, on August 15, a man posing as Praveen, an officer with the Greater Mumbai Police, called the 74-year-old victim via WhatsApp.
In a subsequent WhatsApp video chat, the scammer stated that they had stopped a smuggling attempt and that they had used the victim's ID to register a consignment containing prohibited items in his name. "The impostor then threatened to put the victim under 'virtual arrest' unless he could demonstrate his innocence," the police stated.
The victim was informed that the investigation would require the verification of his bank accounts and that his money would be reimbursed after the verification was finished. On August 18, he sent ₹40 lakh each to two bank accounts in Mumbai in three transactions as directed, according to a police official.
When the promised amount was not returned, he went to the police, who filed a report and were able to freeze about ₹35 lakh from the bank accounts that received the money, according to the officer. But the remaining funds had already been taken out.
According to the officer, efforts are still underway to retrieve the remaining sum and find the fraudsters behind the accounts, which were in the names of fraudulent businesses.
In Kerala, cyber fraud has grown to be a significant issue. According to Kerala police statistics, in 2024, cybercriminals embezzled Rs 763 crore from the state.
Police have appealed to the public to report such cyber fraud incidents immediately via the cyber crime helpline (1930) and are running awareness campaigns to prevent such scams.
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