Scammer posing as CBI officer gets tricked, scammed by Kanpur man

In an unexpected turn of events, a scammer posing as a CBI officer faced a ‘digital arrest’ after being scammed by a caller in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The Kanpur man, Bhupendra Singh, received a call from a scammer posing as a CBI officer. He told Singh he had obscene videos of him and demanded Rs 16000 to settle the case. If Singh refuses, a legal action will be initiated against him.

The make it authentic, the scammer sent Singh an image of an alleged complaint copy. Singh immediately checked the image using Google Lens and found out that it was fake.

Singh decided to teach the scammer a lesson. He weaved a story saying he needed Rs 3000 to release a gold chain he had

The scammer fell for it and transferred the said amount to Singh’s account. Over the coming days, Singh concocted several stories and extracted Rs 10,000 from the scammer. He even roped in a friend to pose as a jeweller.

“I told the scammer I had stolen a gold chain from my house and pawned it with a friend’s father. I requested him to transfer Rs 3000 so that I could sell the gold and transfer the money to him. Over the next few days, I made several stories and convinced him to transfer Rs 10000 to my account. After that I lodged a complaint with the police,” Singh told Brut India.

According to Brut India, the department of telecommunication blocks around 45 lakh spoofed international calls on a daily basis to tackle digital arrests.

On February 24, an 82-year-old retired engineer was duped of Rs 1.38 crore in Hyderabad after he was digitally arrested by three con men.

The Cyberabad police said that the victim got a call from the scammers, who posed as officials from the State Bank of India (SBI), and falsely informed him that a case had been booked against him on anti-money laundering charges. This call was forwarded to another fraudster, who posed as a Mumbai Cyber crimes officer, who intimidated and put the victim in fear of arrest and humiliation.

Manipulating the victim, the fraudsters coerced him into sharing his AADHAAR details and tricked him into transferring Rs 1,38,60,000 across multiple bank accounts operated by fraudsters.

In a similar case, an 86-year-old woman from Mumbai fell victim to digital arrest after she received a call from scammers impersonating police officers and falsely accusing her of money laundering. They managed to extract Rs 20.25 crore over a period of 68 days.

Since 2023, digital arrest cases have seen an alarming rise in India where cybercriminals manipulate their victims through video calls, fabricated accusations, and psychological pressure.

What is digital arrest scam?

A digital arrest scam is when cybercriminals posing as law enforcement officials like police or CBI and intimate their victims into believing they are under criminal investigations. They hold the victim on call for hours blackmailing them to transfer money if they want to get out of the mess. The cybercriminals also send proof such as government documents to prove their claim. The victims generally fall for the trap of sharing sensitive bank details and end up getting scammed by transferring large sums of money.

Some of the tactics used by cybercriminals are phishing, data breaches, sim card swapping, malware and fake websites.

How to protect from digital arrest scams

Cases of digital arrest scams are on the rise, where criminals manipulate victims through video calls, fabricated accusations, and psychological pressure. If you ever find yourself in a similar situation:

• Stay calm and do not panic.
• Immediately disconnect the call and avoid engaging with the scammers.
• Do not transfer money under any pressure or threats.
• Report the incident immediately on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) or call 1930.