The cyber unit in Lucknow has achieved its inaugural "digital arrest" by apprehending three individuals who allegedly posed as "CBI officers" to deceive victims, officials reported Tuesday.
According to authorities, the group orchestrated a sophisticated scam dubbed the 'digital arrest' to swindle a woman of Rs 2.71 crore and a man of Rs 43 lakh.
"The suspects masqueraded as police officers and CBI investigators investigating financial crimes, convincing victims of their involvement in money laundering cases," officials disclosed.
The scheme unfolded when a caller falsely claimed that transactions linked to a money laundering case were traced to the credit card of a doctor's wife. The victim was instructed to remain indoors and interact with a fictitious CBI agent. During a Skype call, she was digitally detained and coerced into transferring Rs 2.71 crore.
"A digital arrest confines victims to the device used for the Skype call, threatening them with legal repercussions if they disclose the incident to family members," explained a police official.
Similarly, a businessman was intimidated with baseless accusations of money laundering to extort compliance.
The accused include Yashpal Prasad, 24, Keshav Goel, 27, and Sanket Kumar, 24, all from Agra.
"Yashpal, a commerce graduate and the mastermind behind the scam, operated from Dubai. He recruited operatives in smaller cities to utilise their bank accounts for money transfers, promising them a share of the proceeds," an officer stated.
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