Bhubaneswar, Sep 24: A 78-year-old retired banker, Naresh Malhotra, has spoken out after losing nearly ₹23 crore in a chilling cyber fraud case in which fraudsters impersonated law enforcement and forced him into a “digital arrest.”

The harassment began on August 1, when Malhotra received a call from an individual claiming to be a telecom company official, who alleged that his Aadhaar card had been misused in Mumbai in connection with terror funding.

Malhotra was soon connected to people posing as officials from the Mumbai Police, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The fraudsters threatened him with legal action. Further, they intimidated him with passport seizure and even implicated his family in terror cases, resulting in his cooperation.

They informed him he was under “digital arrest”. He was forced to stay at home, attend video calls every two hours, and was requested to keep the matter a secret. Over the course of one month, between August 1 and September 4, about 20 transactions were made, draining money from his three bank accounts.

By the time the calls stopped, his life savings were wiped out.

After understanding the entire situation, the victim reported the crime to the Delhi Police. The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit is now investigating the matter. So far, police have been able to freeze ₹2.67 crore across several bank accounts.

The investigation has revealed that the fraudsters used over 4,000 layered accounts across the country to drain the money and evade easy tracing.

“In one month, it all disappeared because I trusted the wrong people,” said Malhotra, fighting back his tears. He said that the life savings had been carefully built over the years, only to see them vanish. “I hope my story serves as a warning,” he added.

At one point, fraudsters had demanded another ₹5 crore in the name of the Supreme Court. However, Malhotra refused and indicated he would deposit the money directly in the court's bank account and surrender to the police. At this point, the calls abruptly ceased.

This alarming case is part of a growing trend of digital arrest fraud in India. In such scams, victims are terrorised through digital means like video calls, messaging, and phone calls to believe they are under legal scrutiny and coerced into transferring money.

Cybercrime investigators and law enforcement departments have repeatedly made warnings about these tactics. Older citizens are often targeted by scammers exploiting their fear and confusion.

Malhotra says he hopes his story will serve as a warning to others and they would not make such mistakes what he did out of fear and confusion.

Written by: Lipisita Padhi

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