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A woman in Lucknow was duped of more than Rs 1 lakh after she was digitally arrested by scammers who posed as government officers, according to authorities. This incident comes amid an escalation in the number of digital arrest cases nationwide.
Ekta Chaturvedi, a resident of Lucknow’s Alam Bagh area, received a call from an unknown number on October 18.
The caller, who claimed to be an official from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), told Chaturvedi that two phone numbers were linked to her Aadhaar Card. But she told the caller that she had been using only one number.
After this, the scamster transferred the call to the so-called Mumbai Police Head Office, saying that she needed to be interrogated.
A second fraudster, who introduced himself as a Mumbai Police officer, told the woman that the second mobile number was being used for money laundering.
After falling into the scamsters’ trap, the accused kept Chaturvedi under digital arrest for about two hours.
After that, they transferred a total of Rs 1.24 lakh from her bank accounts and switched off their phones.
Confirming the incident, DCP Lucknow Raveena Tyagi said that a case has been registered and action will be initiated against the perpetrators.
In August, a woman doctor in Lucknow was similarly trapped and was duped of Rs 2.81 crore.
Ruchika Tandon, an associate professor at SGPGIMS Lucknow, received a call from a scamster who also introduced himself as a TRAI officer.
Last week, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs formed a high-level committee to investigate and take immediate action against perpetrators of digital arrest scam, which targets unsuspecting individuals by falsely implicating them in drug and money laundering cases.
Over 6,000 digital arrest complaints have been registered so far this year, with the Ministry’s Cyber Wing blocking 6 lakh mobile numbers in connection to the racket.