Senior Citizen Loses ₹1.60 Crore in ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam; Key Accused Arrested

In a significant breakthrough, the West Regional Cyber Police have arrested the prime accused in a ₹1.60 crore “digital arrest” scam targeting a 76-year-old social worker from Khar. The accused, Ankush Ramrao More, a resident of Nashik, was detained after being on the run for nearly 11 months.

According to police, More supplied bank accounts to cyber fraudsters, received the proceeds of the scam, and transferred the funds to other members of the syndicate in exchange for commissions. He was produced in a Bandra court and remanded to police custody.

The fraud began on 12 December 2024, when the elderly victim received a call from a man posing as a Junior Telecom Officer, falsely claiming her phone number was linked to a money-laundering case. Soon after, callers impersonating senior Delhi Police and CBI officials threatened her with immediate arrest and placed her under a fake “digital arrest,” instructing her not to contact anyone.

One of the impersonators even appeared on a video call wearing a police uniform, alleging that a bank account opened in her name had suspicious transactions. Exploiting her fear, the fraudsters convinced her to transfer all her savings to a so-called “CBI secret account” for verification. She transferred ₹70 lakh initially, followed by ₹90 lakh, totalling ₹1.60 crore.

The fraud came to light when her nephew visited her on 16 December and she recounted the incident. He advised her to file a complaint, leading to a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act.

Investigators later traced ₹90 lakh to a bank account opened by More, which he had used to funnel money to the cybercrime network. Police say his custodial interrogation will help uncover the larger syndicate behind the scam.