The Delhi Police’s Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre-related IFSO unit has prevented approximately Rs 1.53 crore in potential additional losses in five cyber-fraud cases involving elderly victims across five states, including attempts to force victims to mortgage homes, break fixed deposits and pledge jewellery.
The intervention was carried out by the Financial Monitoring Cell’s Proactive Victim Identification and Protection team, according to details attributed to IFSO deputy commissioner Aniesh Rai. Most of the cases involved “digital arrest” fraud, in which victims were allegedly kept under prolonged intimidation by callers posing as officials from law-enforcement or regulatory agencies. A separate case in Gujarat involved an investment scam.
In Rajasthan, an 80-year-old textile businessman and his wife were allegedly kept under digital arrest for around 15 days and defrauded of approximately Rs 18 lakh. The suspects then pressured the couple to mortgage their house to pay another Rs 10 lakh. Timely action by the IFSO unit helped prevent the additional payment and protected the house from being pledged, according to the report.
One of the cases began when a retired military officer from Sagarpur was allegedly contacted on September 14 by people claiming to be officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The callers accused him of misuse of his Aadhaar card and involvement in illegal activities in Canada, and threatened to arrest him. He was allegedly made to transfer large sums to different bank accounts. An e-FIR was registered on September 29 after a complaint.
During the investigation, the police identified suspicious transactions in an Axis Bank account in Hyderabad. Further examination reportedly showed that money belonging to five other victims had also reached the same account. The account trail helped the team identify a wider pattern rather than treating the complaint as an isolated incident.
In Delhi, a 77-year-old retired Airports Authority of India employee had allegedly been made to transfer Rs 25 lakh. The suspects were seeking another Rs 3 lakh and were also pressuring the victim to pledge gold and silver. Police intervention and awareness efforts prevented an additional loss of approximately Rs 3.48 lakh, the report said.
In Uttar Pradesh, a retired nurse and railway employee couple had allegedly already lost around Rs 52 lakh. The suspects were preparing to obtain another Rs 10 lakh by having the couple break a fixed deposit. In Maharashtra, a 65-year-old hospital assistant had allegedly been defrauded of Rs 85 lakh, while the suspects attempted to obtain another Rs 55 lakh from fixed deposits belonging to the victim’s daughter and son-in-law. The police team stopped further transfers in both cases.
The Gujarat case involved a businessman who was allegedly lured into an investment scheme. Through timely warnings and continued follow-up, the team reportedly prevented him from losing approximately Rs 75 lakh more out of a proposed Rs 1 crore investment. The cases underline how cyber-fraud operations can extend beyond the first transfer, with suspects continuing to target a victim’s remaining savings and family assets.
