Cyber crimes including online frauds, scams are at its peak and several initiatives are being taken by the government to prevent them. Amid this, a woman from Sector-41 of Uttar Pradesh’s Noida became a victim and was duped of Rs 34 lakh after cyber criminals threatened her with fake notices by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and also faked the “digital arrest”.
As per a report by PTI, which quoted officials on Sunday as saying that, the victim, Nidhi Paliwal, in her complaint mentioned that she received a call from fraudsters around 10 pm on August 8.
During the call, they claimed that a parcel with her name on it was being sent from Mumbai to Iran and it contained five passports, two debit cards, two laptops, 900 US dollars and 200 grams of narcotics.
The fraudsters then sent her a complaint via WhatsApp and asked her to immediately transfer Rs 34 lakh.
Paliwal, in her complaint, also stated that she even received a Skype call from one of the criminals with the video switched off.
The case has been registered in the Gautam Buddha cyber crime police station. The report quoted Inspector-in-charge Vijay Kumar Gautam, as saying that an investigation in the matter has already been initiated.
Giving out the details, the police inspector said that the accused also sent two fake notices of ED, in which serious allegations were made against the victim.
Over the past few months, there has been a remarkable surge in the number of “digital arrest” scams in the country.
A digital arrest scam is an online scam where perpetrators pose as law enforcement officials, such as CBI or ED agents, income tax officers, customs agents, and defraud victims of their hard-earned money.
They initiate contact with victims over phone calls and intimidate by falsely accusing them of illegal activities.
Subsequently, they ask the victims to switch to video communication through platforms like WhatsApp and Skype and during this time, the scammers threaten the victims with a digital arrest warrant, citing various reasons such as financial misconduct, tax evasion, or other legal violations.
To make it appear real or legitimate, the scammers at times create a police station-like set-up. The victims are then put under pressure and forced to transfer large sums of money to specified bank accounts or UPI IDs.
As soon as the victims comply and make the payment, the scammers vanish, leaving them with a massive financial loss and potential identity theft.
With inputs from agencies.
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Noida woman becomes ‘digital arrest’ victim, fraudsters dupe her of Rs 34 lakh with fake ED notices
