The record
Written from the 1 report below. Nothing here is unsourced.
- A 73-year-old Mumbai businessman lost Rs 7.9 crore to a 'digital arrest' scam in which fraudsters posing as Delhi Police, using WhatsApp video calls and a fake money laundering case linked to Naresh Goyal, kept him under two weeks of virtual confinement and made him transfer funds to half a dozen accounts.
- Cyber police recovered Rs 1.1 crore so far and found at least 200 mule bank accounts across five states used to move the money.
- Police had visited his home for two days after a Delhi Police alert, but he refused to believe them and only filed an FIR two days later, after his account was emptied and scammers asked him to take a loan.
- The case highlights how convincing such scams are and how delayed victim cooperation limits fund recovery.
What to watch next
- Further recovery of the remaining roughly Rs 6.8 crore as police trace the mule accounts
- Identification and arrest of the scammers, including the caller posing as 'Rahul Gupta' of Delhi Police
- Whether wider links emerge through the 200 mule accounts to other victims or fraud networks
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All filed from India
Named India · Bajrang Bansode · Delhi Police · Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre · Jet Airways · Naresh Goyal · Rahul Gupta · WhatsApp
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