Fraudsters trap Navy veteran in 48-hour digital arrest scam, dupe Rs 42 lakh

An 83-year-old retired Navy officer in Ahmedabad was duped of Rs 42.5 lakh after fraudsters posed as CBI officials and staged a fake courtroom during video calls, keeping him under a so-called "digital arrest."

Cyber fraudsters allegedly duped an 83-year-old retired Navy officer living in Ahmedabad of Rs 42.50 lakh by keeping him under digital arrest for nearly 48 hours. The victim’s son filed an FIR with the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch.

According to the FIR, the retired officer lives with his wife. On December 8 at around 11:30 am, he received a call from a person claiming to be from the telecom department. The caller told him that several complaints had been registered against his phone number and that the CBI Mumbai was investigating the matter. The caller said the call would be transferred, but it got disconnected. He added that the CBI team would call back later.

Soon after, an unidentified person made a video call to the retired officer and claimed that officials had arrested a man named Naresh Goyal, who had allegedly transferred Rs 20 lakh into the officer’s bank account. The retired officer told the caller that he did not know anyone by that name.

The fraudsters later made another video call. This time, the screen showed what appeared to be a courtroom, with a person sitting on a judge’s chair. The caller told the retired officer that he was being presented before the court. The man posing as a judge claimed that authorities had registered 27 cases against him and that the CBI was conducting a confidential investigation. He instructed the officer not to share the matter with his family or children. The caller then told him to submit an application in English saying that he was not involved in any case and to share his bank account details.

On the morning of December 9, the fraudsters again contacted the retired officer through a video call. They told him not to leave his house or contact anyone while the investigation was underway. They also claimed that officials needed to verify the funds in his bank account and instructed him to transfer the money through RTGS.

As the retired officer had difficulty walking, he informed his wife about the calls. His wife went to the bank in a rickshaw, broke a fixed deposit, and transferred the amount to the bank account provided by the fraudsters. The accused later told them that the CBI investigation was ongoing and persuaded them to break another fixed deposit and transfer those funds as well.