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Fraudsters alleged that a parcel booked in the victim’s name, en route from Mumbai to Bangkok had been intercepted and was found to contain narcotics, passports, and a laptop.
The fraudsters posed as police officers and trapped the victim in ‘digital arrest’ for 5 days. (Representative image)
A 81-year-old Hyderabad man lost Rs 7 crore in a digital scam after being falsely implicated in a drugs case. The ordeal, which spanned over two months, highlights the extreme psychological pressure used by fraudsters to isolate and exploit vulnerable senior citizens.
The fraud began on October 27, when the victim received a WhatsApp call from someone claiming to be a courier company representative. The caller alleged that a parcel booked in the victim’s name, en route from Mumbai to Bangkok, Thailand, had been intercepted and was found to contain narcotics, passports, and a laptop.
After the 81-year-old man denied any involvement, the scammers escalated their tactics. He was quickly “transferred” to another individual impersonating a high-ranking officer from the Mumbai Police.
The second fraudster made serious allegations against the victim, including drug trafficking, money laundering, and involvement in terror-related activities.
To instill fear, the scammers declared that the victim was under “digital arrest”. Under the guise of a “financial verification” process, they systematically drained the victim’s life savings. He was first forced to transfer Rs 19.80 lakh to “verify” his transactions, NDTV reported.
Later on October 29, the fraudsters persuaded him to download the Signal app, which they used to maintain constant pressure and monitor his movements.
They used the app to intimidate him over several days, coerced him into liquidating his mutual funds and fixed deposits, resulting in a staggering transfer of Rs 7.12 crore.
The accused assured the victim that the entire amount would be returned once the “investigation” was completed.
The scammers’ true ruthlessness surfaced on December 29, when they contacted the victim again, demanding an additional Rs 1.2 crore to “close the case.”
After this, the 81-year-old man discovered similar “digital arrest” scams reported in newspapers.
This case is part of a disturbing trend. While overall cybercrime cases in the tri-commissionerates of Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda, reportedly dropped from 20,574 in 2024 to 15,105 in 2025, the financial impact remains severe. In 2024 alone, victims in Telangana lost a total of Rs 1,866 crore to cybercrime.
January 04, 2026, 12:55 IST
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