Cases of fraud through digital arrest tactics are on the rise in Mumbai. The latest victim is a 24-year-old content writer from the Versova area, who was digitally detained for hours by cybercriminals. The scammers intimidated her by threatening arrest in a money laundering case, eventually tricking her into transferring ₹1.6 lakh. After realizing she had been defrauded, the woman filed a complaint at the Versova Police Station against two unknown individuals. Police are investigating the case and actively searching for the culprits.
According to Versova Police, the victim received a call on the morning of November 30 at 10:30 AM from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be from a cybercrime unit and instructed her to press the number 9 for further assistance. Upon doing so, another individual joined the call and alleged that her personal documents were being used for illegal activities.
The victim was then transferred to a video call on Skype, where a man in uniform appeared. He informed her that her name was linked to a money laundering case and sent her an arrest warrant via WhatsApp. The uniformed man claimed that female officers would arrest her later that night, leaving the victim terrified and in tears.
Under the pretense of verifying her details to avoid arrest, the scammers demanded her bank account information. They further pressured her to transfer funds from her account via UPI to prove her innocence.