Sabarkantha, July 24 (IANS) A 75-year-old couple in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha district was rescued from a suspected “digital arrest” scam before they could hand over 25 tolas of gold and Rs two lakh in cash to cyber fraudsters, after an alert bank employee raised the alarm and police intervened in time.
According to the Sabarkantha Cyber Crime Police, the fraudsters allegedly posed as Mumbai Police officers and falsely claimed that a SIM card linked to the Aadhaar card of Rasikbhai Modi had been used in a financial fraud involving a person identified as “Naresh Goyal”.
The couple were allegedly kept under what the fraudsters described as a “digital arrest” through continuous video calls for three days and were threatened with legal action.
Police said the scammers then demanded money in exchange for removing the couple’s name from the purported case.
The victims were allegedly instructed to melt 25 tolas of gold into gold biscuits and break a fixed deposit worth Rs two lakh to arrange the payment.
The fraud attempt was uncovered when the elderly couple visited an Axis Bank branch to arrange the funds.
A bank employee noticed that they appeared distressed and, suspecting that something was wrong, immediately informed the Sabarkantha Cyber Crime Police.
A cyber crime team reached the bank shortly afterwards, counselled the couple and informed them that they had become targets of a cyber fraud.
Police said the intervention prevented the victims from parting with their money and gold, averting a substantial financial loss.
The case comes amid growing concern over “digital arrest” scams, in which fraudsters impersonate law enforcement or government officials and use fabricated criminal allegations to intimidate victims into transferring money or valuables.
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi has instructed the police to provide immediate assistance to citizens who are at risk of becoming victims of cyber fraud.
He recently held a review meeting with senior police and bank officials to strengthen coordination and implement measures aimed at preventing financial fraud and improving responses to such cases.
Appealing to the public to remain vigilant, police reiterated that no police force or government agency conducts investigations through video calls or demands money to settle criminal cases.
They urged citizens, particularly senior citizens, to treat such calls with suspicion and to immediately contact the Cyber Crime Helpline on ‘1930’ or report incidents through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal if they encounter similar fraud attempts.
–IANS
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