In a shocking case of online fraud, a 79-year-old retired Major General from the Indian Army was duped of Rs2 crore by a group of fraudsters posing as law enforcement personnel. The incident, which lasted for five days from August 10 to 15, saw the retired officer being subjected to what has been termed a “digital arrest.”
The scam began on August 10 when the retired officer, residing in Noida’s Sector 31, received a call from an unidentified number. The caller claimed to be a representative of a courier company based in Mumbai, informing him that a parcel sent in his name to Taiwan had been flagged by customs officers. According to the caller, the parcel contained illegal items, including five passports, four credit cards, 200 grams of MDMA, and a laptop. The caller further suggested that the officer’s Aadhaar card might have been compromised and instructed him to file an online complaint with the Mumbai Crime Branch.
The situation escalated when the officer was transferred to a man posing as a senior officer of the Mumbai Police. To add credibility to his story, the fraudster even displayed a fake ID card during a video call. Throughout the interaction, the suspect continued to manipulate the officer with fake confidentiality documents, claiming that the conversation was highly sensitive and advising him not to share any details with others to avoid legal trouble.
The officer was then told he was under “digital arrest” and could not leave his house until the matter was resolved. The scammer even threatened the officer, claiming that if he didn’t cooperate, he might face physical harm, referencing the tragic case of a doctor couple murdered in Chennai as an example. The fraudster also kept the officer confined to his home, forcing him to share his movements via phone calls.