78-year-old former finance official loses ₹3.15 crore to digital arrest scam via impersonated TRAI and CBI officials

Summary

A 78-year-old former banking and finance official in Noida became a victim of a digital arrest scam, losing Rs 3.15 crore between February 25 and March 15. The scam began when he received a video call from someone impersonating an official from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), falsely claiming a criminal case had been filed against him in Mumbai. The fraudsters, posing as an IPS officer and a CBI officer, demanded he participate in a video call with the Chief Justice of India and warned of account freezes and national security consequences if he did not comply. The victim was kept under a 15-day "digital arrest" during which he was pressured not to seek help and was shown a forged Supreme Court order falsely clearing him of involvement in a money laundering case linked to Naresh Goyal. He eventually reported the incident to police, who registered a case under the Bharatiya Nagarik Samta (BNS) Act and the Information Technology Act against unidentified individuals. The police are currently tracing the money trail, as the funds were transferred in multiple transactions.