Pilot loses 7 lakh to ‘digital arrest’ fraud

Hyderabad: A private commercial pilot from Begumpet fell victim to a ‘digital arrest' fraud and lost over Rs 7 lakh to cybercriminals. The fraudsters claimed that a parcel in his name containing illegal items was intercepted by FedEx, and his bank accounts were linked to money laundering. They coerced him into a digital confinement, during which he was forced to remain on a video call for hours, even while visiting his bank to transfer money via RTGS.
The criminals threatened that any attempt to disconnect the call or use other phone functions would result in action against him and his family.It only ended after he returned home from the bank hours later, according to Hyderabad cybercrime official. A case has been registered based on his complaint.
"We urge people to be very cautious of such calls and disconnect them in the first instance itself and block the numbers. If they continue to receive calls, alert police," the official said. The fraudsters, impersonating FedEx courier service representatives, initially called the 23-year-old pilot on Oct 11, informing him about a parcel containing drugs and other material. The call was then transferred to the Mumbai cybercrime branch, where another fraudster posing as a cybercrime officer verified his details and confirmed that his name was under scrutiny for opening bank accounts for money laundering. They collected information about his bank accounts and properties.
Subsequently, they instructed him to go to the bank and make an RTGS transfer. He was compelled to transfer 98% of his current account funds, over 7 lakh, with the promise of a refund within 30 minutes after account verification. However, the money never returned, and the probe revealed that the funds had been sent to a suspected mule account in Gujarat.