Digital Arrest: Mumbai Woman Made to Strip for 'Body Verification', Lost Rs 1.7 Lakh After Threat

Mumbai: A woman in the Maharashtra capital was victim of digital arrest by cyber fraudsters and lost Rs 1.7 lakh after threat of digital arrest. Not only this, the woman was also made to strip in front of the criminals as part of ‘body verification’. 

Digital Arrest Threat: Mumbai Woman Made to Strip, Lost Nearly Rs 2 Lakh

The incident occurred between November 19 and 20 when ‘Delhi Police officials', who were actually fraudsters, got in touch a Mumbai woman who worked at a pharmaceutical company. They threatened and frightened her into believing that a money laundering investigation was going on against her.

The victim was forced to book a hotel room and keeping her occupied in conversations, the fraudsters stole Rs 1,7 lakh from her online. The woman was also made to strip over a video call, on the pretext of ‘body verification’. 

Case Registered, No Arrest Made So Far

The digital arrest victim has now registered an FIR at the Dahisar Police Station after which the case was transferred to Andheri Police. An investigation is underway and no arrest has been made so far. This is not the first case of digital arrest that has been reported in Mumbai in the recent past. Digital arrest cases across the country have been rising at an alarming level.

77-Year-Old Mumbai Woman Loses Rs 3.8 Cr Due to Digital Arrest

A 77-year-old woman from Mumbai became the latest victim of an elaborate cyber fraud scheme, in which scammers posed as law enforcement officials and kept her under “digital arrest” for a month, forcing her to transfer a staggering Rs 3.8 crore.

The ordeal began when the victim, a homemaker residing with her retired husband in south Mumbai, received a WhatsApp call from an unknown man who accused her of being involved in a money laundering operation. According to police officials, the caller claimed that a parcel sent by the woman to Taiwan contained illegal items, including MDMA drugs, five passports, a bank card, and clothes.

The woman denied sending any such parcel, but the fraudster insisted that her Aadhaar card had been linked to the criminal activity. The caller then connected her to another individual who identified himself as a "Mumbai Police officer." This person told her that her Aadhaar details were involved in an ongoing money laundering investigation.

"The caller asked the woman to download the Skype app and told her that police officers would talk to her. She was ordered not to disconnect the call and disclose the matter," the official said.

Later, a man who identified himself as an IPS officer sought details of her bank accounts. Another man, claiming to be an IPS officer from the finance department, asked the woman to transfer money to bank accounts provided by them.

"They subsequently asked the woman to send all her money from the joint bank accounts of her husband. She ended up transferring Rs 3.8 crore in several transactions to six bank accounts," the official said.

What is Digital Arrest?

Digital arrest is a type of scam wherein fraudsters impersonate government officials and dupe victims into paying hefty amounts by placing them under 'digital' or 'virtual' arrest. The scammers use video conferencing tools to stay in constant touch with the victim and holding them hostage till their demands are met