82-year-old woman loses ₹9.18 lakh to digital arrest scam via Telegram after fake police call in Ghaziabad

Summary

An 82-year-old woman in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, fell victim to a digital arrest scam and lost Rs 9.18 lakh between February 10 and February 13, 2025. The scam began when she received a landline call warning her of disconnection, which led to a fraudster posing as a Mumbai Police officer. The caller claimed her bank account was under investigation and instructed her to download Telegram for further communication. The scammers extracted her bank and Aadhaar details and convinced her to transfer the money via RTGS, falsely promising a quick refund. The fraud was discovered when her daughter received a transaction alert and filed a complaint on February 13. Police registered a case and are working with banks to freeze the transactions and track the perpetrators.