Noida: Cybercriminals digitally detained a female IT engineer in her Sector-34 residence for eight hours, instilling fear and coercing her. The culprits, threatening legal action related to a money laundering case, deceitfully extracted ₹11 lakhs. The victim promptly filed a case at the cybercrime police station. The incident, revealed on Thursday, is classified as a digital arrest.
Sector in-charge Rita Yadav explained that the resident, Sejal T.A., received a call on November 13 from an unknown number posing as a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India official. The impostor claimed her Aadhaar card was used to buy a SIM card, allegedly employed in money laundering. Subsequently, scammers transferred ₹2 crore from her account using this SIM.
The criminals, employing the stolen SIM, initiated a call transfer during Skype communication, posing as Mumbai police on one end and customs officials on the other. They intimidated Sejal for about eight hours, restricting her movements in her home. Sejal was bombarded with various questions, prohibited from communicating with anyone, and coerced into a ₹11,11,000 bank transfer. The cybercrime unit registered the case last week, revealing it to be a digital arrest incident.
Cyber experts note that in digital arrests, individuals are coerced into prolonged app usage, prohibiting logout and enabling continuous monitoring. The criminals exploit the victim’s fear of legal action, couriered evidence from abroad, or misuse of private documents.
This alarming incident underscores the evolving tactics employed by cybercriminals, urging individuals to remain vigilant and take precautions to safeguard against such digital threats.