In a shocking revelation, the Special Task Force (STF) Cyber Crime Police of Uttarakhand have uncovered a sophisticated scam known as the “Digital House Arrest,” which has been duping victims across India. The Dehradun police uncovered the scam after a local resident reported being extorted for a massive sum of Rs 1.7 crore.
The scam began when the victim, a resident of Dehradun, received a call purportedly from the Mumbai Crime Branch. The caller claimed that a suspicious parcel, allegedly sent from Mumbai to Taiwan, had been intercepted. According to the fraudsters, the parcel contained narcotics and counterfeit documents, and the victim’s Aadhaar card had been linked to these illegal activities.
The victim was accused of being involved in money laundering and drug trafficking. As part of their coercive tactics, the scammers made video calls through Skype, where they impersonated law enforcement officers and threatened the victim with arrest unless they cooperated. The victim was led to believe they were under investigation for serious crimes and was coerced into making multiple transactions for a total of Rs 1.7 crore under the guise of paying for “legal verification” and “clearance.”
In one of the most alarming aspects of the scam, the fraudsters isolated the victim by coercing them into staying home and cutting off all contact with others, calling it a “Digital House Arrest” while the “investigation” was underway. Victims were also pressured to transfer money to various accounts, with the threat of arrest hanging over them.
The victim only realized they had been duped when they became suspicious of the fraudulent activities and approached the Uttarakhand Cyber Crime Police in Dehradun.
After receiving the complaint, the STF launched an extensive investigation into the scam. Using advanced digital tools, along with data analysis from banking and telecom networks, the team was able to track down and identify the key accused behind the scam—Manni Kumar, a resident of Yamunanagar, Haryana.
Kumar was apprehended, and items seized during the arrest included mobile phones, debit/credit cards, Aadhaar cards, and other fraudulent documents used in the operation. Authorities also found that the accused had been running multiple fraudulent schemes, targeting individuals across India.
Following the arrest, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Navneet Singh confirmed that a murderous scheme of digital manipulation had been exposed, where victims were intimidated and extorted under false claims of criminal involvement. Police continue to investigate the full scope of the scam, suspecting that other victims may also be out there, unaware that they too could have been targeted by the same group of fraudsters.
The Uttarakhand Cyber Crime Police have urged the public to be wary of unsolicited calls, especially those involving threats of criminal charges, and to report such incidents to authorities immediately.