The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested four members of a cybercrime gang who had extorted more than Rs. 7crore through “digital arrest” from a Rajasthan resident, following raids in 12 locations across the country including Mumbai and Krishnagar in West Bengal.
The complainant, a Jhunjhunu resident was kept on “digital arrest” for over three months and total Rs. 7.67crores extorted from him 42 times by the gang posing as officers employed with different probe agencies.
On the request of the Rajasthan government, the CBI took up the case, which was registered under Jhunjhunu’s cybercrime division and arrested two of the gang members from Mumbai and two others from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad.
“Through the leads generated during the probe extensive searches were conducted in 12 locations across the country. Apart from Moradabad, raids were also held in UP’s Sambhal, Mumbai, Jaipur and Krishnagar after which some of the perpetrators were tracked and arrested,” said a CBI officer.
The CBI sleuths recovered bank account details, debit cards, cheque books, deposit slips and digital devices.
The four were produced before a CBI court Tuesday and remanded to five days police custody.
Online scammers are using “digital arrest” to scam individuals, even politicians. Scammers call the target posing as officers employed with investigative agencies like the CBI or a metropolitan police’s crime branch, Income Tax, Customs, the Enforcement Directorate and others, some of them specialising in probing money laundering cases.
Claiming to be law enforcement personnel, they inform the target that he/she has been placed under arrest and proceed to threaten them with physical arrest if they do not comply with their demands, which include handing over personal information and bank account details, among others.
The targets are also warned not to contact their family or actual law enforcement agencies.
Five days ago a legislative council member from Bihar was placed under “digital arrest” for several hours till he lodged a complaint with the cops.
The RJD MLA Mohammad Shoaib was allegedly placed under “digital arrest” on the evening of April 8 at his Patna residence, where he was threatened with legal action.
Around 10.30 pm of April 8, the MLC allegedly received two calls from two different numbers, where the caller identified himself as an officer of Mumbai police’s crime branch.
Shoaib lodged a formal complaint on April 10.
“The agency has adopted a multi-pronged approach in the investigation of “digital arrest” cases. Our objective is to dismantle the infrastructure behind these crimes,” said the officer. “In recent months, we have taken over multiple cases of “digital arrests” across the country.”