A 60-year-old Shahjahanpur man was conned out of Rs 1.04 crore by fraudsters posing as ED, CBI officials and judges via fake WhatsApp court hearings. UP Police arrested 7 accused and warned citizens about rising “digital arrest” cyber frauds.
In Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, the police arrested seven young men on Wednesday for pretending to be officers from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to cheat a 60-year-old man through an elaborate online scam.
The accused allegedly conducted a fake digital court hearing over WhatsApp for nearly a month and forced the man to transfer over Rs 1 crore, according to the police.
The victim, Sharad Chand, is associated with an NGO. He was targeted on May 6 when he received a phone call from people pretending to be officials from the ED and the CBI. They told him he was under investigation for an illegal money transaction of Rs 2.8 crore.
To scare him further, the fraudsters conducted fake virtual court hearings through WhatsApp, where people impersonated judges and lawyers.
This method, commonly called “digital arrest”, is used in cyber frauds where criminals convince the victim that they are under legal custody or surveillance via digital means. Victims are often kept on constant video calls or phone calls, which isolates them from family or friends.
They are forced to believe they are in legal trouble and are tricked into following instructions — usually to transfer large sums of money.
During the fake online court sessions, the fraudsters acted like real judges and lawyers. They scared and threatened Sharad Chand by making false legal claims and showing fake documents, ultimately making him transfer Rs 1.04 crore to 40 different bank accounts linked to nine people pretending to be advocates.
“During these ‘virtual hearings’, fake lawyers and judges allegedly intimidated Chand, ultimately coercing him into transferring Rs 1.04 crore across 40 bank accounts belonging to nine alleged ‘advocates.'”
Initially, the victim didn’t tell anyone about what was happening because he believed he was truly under arrest or being watched. Only after he realized he had been cheated did he approach the police and lodge a complaint.
Superintendent of Police Rajesh Dwivedi told PTI that while investigating the case, the police found suspicious transactions worth Rs 9 crore in another bank account connected to this fraud. That account is now under investigation.
Dwivedi said,
“During the investigation, police discovered suspicious transactions of Rs nine crore in a bank account linked to the case. That account is also under scrutiny,”
The seven accused have been identified as Sachin, Prashant, Gautam Singh, Sandeep Kumar, Syed Saif, Aryan Sharma, and Pawan Yadav.
All of them are between the ages of 20 and 28. The police found that they were part of a well-organized cyber crime racket.
They have been arrested and sent to jail. Legal action has been taken under several serious charges, including:
- Section 318 (cheating),
- Section 319 (cheating by impersonation),
- Section 204 (impersonating a government official) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),
- And Sections 66(c) and 66(d) of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has also issued a public warning regarding these kinds of cyber scams. They urged citizens to be aware of digital frauds, especially scams involving fake officials and online arrests.
People have been advised to immediately report any suspicious call or video hearing to the nearest police station or the cybercrime helpline number.
“Uttar Pradesh Police has cautioned citizens against cyber frauds like digital arrest and asked them to report any such experiences to their nearest police station or on the dedicated helpline number 1530.”
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Meta
