In a shocking case of cyber fraud, a retired NRI couple in Delhi was put under ‘digital arrest’ by a cybercrime gang for 17 days. The couple lost nearly Rs 15 crore before the victims realized that they were scammed.
Dr Om Taneja, a retired engineer and his 77-year-old wife Dr Indira Taneja, a pediatrician, returned to India in 2015 after staying in the US for 45 years. Om Taneja worked in the United Nations.
On December 24, Dr Indira Taneja got a call from a person, who claimed to be from TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). The man said, their phone numbers will be blocked due to objectionable vulgar content and a case of money laundering has been lodged against them.
A video call began with a person, posing as a CBI official, who asked the couple to come to Mumbai for interrogation.
When the doctor told them that her husband had undergone a surgery and they were unable to go to Mumbai, the fake officials “sent” them a forged arrest warrant and sought details of their bank accounts. The elderly couple was told they have been put under digital arrest.
On the first day, the scamsters carried out “documentation” and sent a document purported to be a notarized secret supervision account. They were given a Yes Bank phone number.
In the notarized “document”, it was written that the couple’s assets would be investigated through this Yes Bank account. Dr Indira Taneja was asked to transfer her entire bank account money to this account.
The gang members knew Dr Taneja’s bank officials would raise questions if she went to the bank to transfer her money. They advised her to give fake reasons.
The bank officials promised to transfer the money after a week, but Dr Taneja insisted on transferring nearly Rs 15 crore in eight tranches to Yes Bank and Axis Bank accounts immediately.
For 17 days, the couple was kept under “digital arrest”. They were not allowed to speak to any other person. Round-the-clock video call monitoring was done by the gang. When Dr Indira Taneja insisted she wanted to speak to her lawyer, the “police official” told her it was a matter of national security and she must keep the matter secret. The gang members promised that her money would be returned once the investigation is over.
After the transactions were over, the couple was told to go to their nearest police station and get the money back. It was when the couple reached the police station, realization dawned that they have been scammed.
The case has now been taken up by Delhi Police IFSO (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations). It has been found that the NRI couple’s money went to different bank accounts in seven states. These accounts were opened in the name of charitable foundations and private firms.
The maximum amount was transferred to bank accounts in Vadodara(Gujarat), while remaining money was transferred to Assam, West Bengal, Mumbai, Delhi, UP and Uttarakhand.
Police suspect that the scammed money have oven siphoned to over 500 mule accounts and digital wallets through several low value transactions. Police have managed to put Rs 1.4 crore money on hold and the investigation continues.
Cyber fraud has assumed serious proportions in India. Last year, nearly Rs 20,000 crore was lost due to cyber fraud, more than 22 lakh complaints were received and 45 per cent of these frauds originated from three South-East Asian countries, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
The later cyber fraud that took place in Delhi’s Greater Kailash-II provides serious lessons. The victims were educated – an engineer and a doctor. They had been around the world for decades and yet they failed to detect a fake police, a fake court and a fake document.
There is nothing called digital arrest in India. Yet, the gang managed to scam Rs 15 crore from their accounts. By the time police was informed, the scamsters managed to siphon off most of the money to other accounts on foreign shores.
I would again like to caution all of you. If anybody posing as a policeman or a judge tries to cheat you by showing fake videos, do not fear. Do not trust their fake claims.
Police never speak about arrest warrant over phone.
If anybody tries to intimidate you, please ring up 1930 – a helpline installed by the Home Ministry.
If you reach out to the police within 24 hours of such a fraud, you can get your scammed money back.
Please make everybody understand these hard facts. Be on alert and caution others too.
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