In a shocking cybercrime incident, a 73-year-old retired insurance employee from Ahmedabad was conned out of more than ₹1 crore after falling prey to an elaborate "digital arrest" that lasted for seven straight months. The fraudsters used fear, forged legal authority, and fake video setups to hold the elderly man under virtual captivity, isolating him completely from his family and draining his life savings.
The nightmare began on January 29 when the victim received a call from an individual claiming to represent the Telecom Regulatory Authority. The caller claimed that another unauthorized mobile SIM card was active in Mumbai under the senior citizen’s identity. Caught off guard and fearing legal consequences, the victim was persuaded to share his personal, family, and banking credentials to resolve the fabricated issue.
Within days, the scam escalated into a well-coordinated psychological trap. A caller named "Anishka" contacted him, demanding a written confession stating that he had improperly shared his Aadhaar details. Shortly after, the victim was pulled into a video call featuring men dressed in uniforms and formal attire, posing convincingly as a judge and lawyers inside a fake courtroom setting to make the investigation appear authentic.
By March, the fraudsters tightened their grip through another video call with a fake police officer and judge, claiming they needed to "verify" the legitimacy of his financial assets. A scammer posing as a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official directed him to liquidate his fixed deposits and transfer the proceeds to designated bank accounts shared over WhatsApp for official verification.
Terrified of going to jail, the retiree traveled to Rajkot, broke multiple fixed deposits, and sent ₹18 lakh via RTGS. The demands never stopped; the criminals continued to bleed his finances dry through repeated transfers. When his liquid cash ran out, the scammers even pressured him to sell his house, demanding property deeds and income tax records.
Desperate to comply with the fake authorities, the senior citizen began borrowing money from his daughter and son-in-law without explaining the real reason behind his financial distress. Another relative's bank account was also used to transfer ₹5 lakh. The cybercriminals subsequently resorted to extreme extortion, threatening that his daughter's life would be in severe danger if he failed to send more money immediately.
The seven-month-long ordeal finally unraveled when the victim urgently requested an additional ₹35 lakh from his son-in-law. Alarmed by the unusual demands and his visible distress, the family alerted the police in Rajkot. Cybercrime officials immediately intervened, breaking the illusion and informing the devastated pensioner that he had been systematically defrauded.
Law enforcement agencies emphasize that no police force, investigative bureau, or court conducts trials or issues arrests over WhatsApp or video calls. Citizens are strongly advised to hang up on calls demanding immediate money transfers under threat of arrest and to report suspicious communications directly to national cybercrime helplines.