Srinagar: Three people were arrested in the case of ‘digital arrest’ by posing as officials from TRAI and CBI to coerce victims into transferring funds here, police said on Friday.
‘Digital arrest’ is a new cyber fraud, where the accused pose as law enforcement agency officials, like CBI or customs officials, and threaten people of arrest by making video calls in the name of fake international parcels of banned drugs, they said.
Addressing a press conference, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar, Imtiyaz Hussain, said that the accused used psychological manipulation to defraud the senior citizen of Rs 21 lakh.
The SSP said the scam came to light after a senior citizen from Srinagar filed a complaint, reporting that he was cheated by scammers impersonating officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“The fraudsters accused the victim of being involved in a ‘money laundering’ case amounting to Rs 6.8 crores. To intimidate him, they issued fake arrest warrants and penalties, declaring the conversations a ‘national secret’ and instructing the victim to lock his house and avoid any communication with others,” the SSP said.
“Under pressure, the victim prematurely closed his fixed deposits and transferred Rs 21 lakh to a fraudulent HDFC Bank account, after he was falsely assured that the funds would be refunded within hours.”
An FIR was registered under number 26/2024 and police launched an investigation using advanced technical tools.
“Teams were dispatched to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Punjab, leading to the arrest of one Gaurav Kumar from Shamli (UP), Gurpreet Singh from Patiala (Punjab), and Ujjawal Chauhan, also from Patiala,” the SSP said.
He said during the operation, police seized four mobile phones, a MacBook, 13 SIM cards, 24 debit cards, 20 cheque books, 10 passbooks, and other incriminating materials. An amount of Rs 4.13 lakh has already been released back to the complainant’s account.
SSP Srinagar said that further investigations are ongoing to uncover other conspirators.
He urged the citizens to exercise caution while sharing sensitive financial information and warned against falling prey to such schemes. “Legitimate government agencies will never demand payments, conduct investigations over phone calls, or request sensitive data online. Citizens are advised to verify the authenticity of such claims and report suspicious activities immediately to the nearest Cyber Police Station or helpline,” the SSP said.
