IIT Bombay student duped of over Rs 7 lakh by scammers after digital arrest

An IIT Bombay student lost ₹7.29 lakh after a fraudster posed as a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) employee and coerced him into paying the money by intimidating him under the pretext of 'digital arrest', police said on Tuesday.

An IIT Bombay student lost over ₹7 lakh in the new 'digital arrest' scam

'Digital arrest' is a new and growing form of cyber fraud in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials or personnel of government agencies, and intimidate victims through audio/video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on the victims to make payment.

"The 25-year-old victim received a call from an unknown number in July this year. The caller posed as an employee of the TRAI and informed him that 17 complaints of illegal activities were registered against his mobile number," an official of the Powai police station in Mumbai said. The caller claimed that in order prevent deactivation of his number, the victim has to obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) from the police, and told the victim that he was transferring the call to the Cyber Crime Branch, he said.