Senior citizens continue to fall easy prey to cyber frauds in TG

Hyderabad: A 78-year-old man from Nizamabad became a victim of a digital arrest after being contacted by fraudsters impersonating Mumbai Police officers. The fraudsters falsely claimed that his Aadhaar was linked to a bank account involved in a money laundering case.

According to the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), the fraudsters threatened the victim’s wife and kept them under digital arrest. The digital arrest continued for about 50 hours from 9 am on August 31 to 11.30 am on September 2. Shikha Goel, Director, TGCSB, said that to gain credibility, the fraudsters sent fabricated legal notices in the name of the Supreme Court, CBI, TRAI, and RBI. On the pretext of ‘verification of transactions’, the victim was coerced into transferring over Rs 30 lakh to the fraudsters’ account. Fake payment receipts in the name of RBI and the Enforcement Directorate were also shared to mislead him.

“The fraudsters further attempted to persuade the victim into taking a gold loan by pledging ornaments in his bank locker. For this, the victim approached one of his friends, who sensed foul play and immediately informed 1930 and also approached the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Nizamabad. In swift action, the officers prevented the senior citizen from pledging his gold for money. The prompt action by 1930 ensured that Rs 20 lakhs from the defrauded amount was put on hold,” said Shikha Goel.

A case was registered in the CCPS, Nizamabad, and an investigation was taken up to identify and apprehend the accused.

Shikha Goel advised citizens that the police, CBI, RBI, ED, TRAI, or courts never contact citizens through WhatsApp calls regarding bank accounts, Aadhaar, or money laundering cases.

She urged the public not to respond to video calls or messages from unknown numbers claiming to be from law enforcement or government agencies, and never to transfer money or disclose bank or locker details on the instructions of unknown persons. In case of suspicious calls or messages, she advised citizens to immediately dial 1930 or report at www.cybercrime.gov.in.