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In Pune district, scammers posing as police duped an ex-professor and an elderly couple, stealing over Rs 5 crore through digital arrest scams. FIRs were filed.
Digital arrests are on the rise in India. (Representative Image)
An elderly couple and a retired professor in Pune district recently fell victim to a digital arrest scam, collectively losing over Rs 5 crore after cybercriminals posing as law enforcement officers coerced them into transferring their life savings.
The retired engineering professor from Pune lost nearly Rs 3.08 crore, while the elderly couple from Pimpri Chinchwad was defrauded of Rs 2.14 crore. Separate FIRs were filed at the respective Cyber Crime police stations, according to a report in The Indian Express.
In the Pune case, the 64-year-old professor was contacted by someone pretending to be a “Cyber Data Protection” officer from Colaba Police Station, falsely accusing her of involvement in terror financing. She was warned not to discuss the matter with anyone and was instructed to join a video call as part of a fabricated digital arrest process.
The scammers, using the names of real Maharashtra Police officers, obtained full details of her finances, showed her images of supposed terror suspects, and pressured her into believing she needed to transfer all her funds into “government accounts” for clearance. Over the course of six transactions across a week, she transferred Rs 3.08 crore before realizing she had been duped, the report stated.
In Pimpri Chinchwad, a 74-year-old retired manager and his wife, a former teacher, were told that the wife was involved in a case related to the Popular Front of India (PFI). The fraudsters, initially claiming to be Nashik Police officials, extracted detailed information about the couple’s investments and savings. Claiming that the funds needed to be verified under RBI norms, they coerced the couple into making eight transactions, totaling Rs 2.14 crore. Only later did the victims approach the police after noticing something suspicious.
In a separate incident from Kanpur, scammers impersonated officers from the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to intimidate a woman into transferring Rs 6.66 lakh. The victim, Sunita Gaur, received multiple calls between November 9-11, in which the fraudsters claimed her mobile number was linked to terrorist activities related to the Delhi blast. They warned that she and her entire family would face arrest unless she complied.
Following Sunita’s complaint, the police registered a case, with the city’s cyber crime unit taking the lead in the investigation. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) IPS Anjali Vishwakarma described the incident as “another serious case of digital arrest”.
Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com’s general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18…Read More
Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com’s general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manisha.Roy@nw18… Read More
November 19, 2025, 09:19 IST
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