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A family in India lost over Rs 1.10 crore after being trapped in a ‘digital arrest’ scam, where fraudsters posed as officials and threatened them via video calls. A shocking case of cyber
fraud has come to light where a family was tricked into paying over Rs 1.10 crore after being kept under ‘digital arrest’ for five days. The fraudsters posed as government officials and
scared them into making payments, police said on Monday. _WHAT IS 'DIGITAL ARREST'?_ ‘Digital arrest’ is a new kind of cyber scam where fraudsters pretend to be officers from law
enforcement agencies like the CBI or customs department. They threaten victims by making video calls and falsely claim that international parcels in their name contain banned drugs. Scared
of getting arrested, victims end up paying large amounts of money to the scammers. _HOW THE FRAUD HAPPENED_ According to the police, the victim, Chandrabhan Paliwal, received a call on
February 1 from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and warned him that his SIM card would be blocked. After a few minutes,
another person contacted Paliwal and said that his case had been transferred to Mumbai Cyber Crime Branch. Soon after, a fraudster pretending to be an IPS officer made a video call from
Mumbai’s Kolava Police Station, Deputy Commissioner of Police Preeti Yadav said. The fake officer falsely accused Paliwal of extorting money and claimed that 24 cases were registered against
him in different locations. The fraudsters even told him that the CBI was investigating a money laundering case against him. _FAMILY ALSO TRAPPED_ Not only Chandrabhan Paliwal, but his wife
and daughter also became victims. They received similar video calls, where they were threatened with arrest if they did not pay the demanded amount. _MONEY LOST AND INVESTIGATION_ Out of
fear, Paliwal transferred Rs 1.10 crore to the fraudsters over five days. After realizing the scam, he approached the police. A case has been registered, and an investigation is ongoing to
track down the criminals. The police have warned people to be cautious of such scams and to verify any suspicious calls from unknown numbers before taking action.