The Delhi Police has prevented potential losses of Rs 1.53 crore in cyber fraud cases across five states by identifying victims through suspicious financial transactions and intervening before they could transfer additional money to fraudsters, officials said on Sunday.
The operation, carried out by the Proactive Victim Identification and Protection Team of the Financial Monitoring Cell (FMC) under the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit, helped protect several victims, including senior citizens who had been subjected to prolonged threats and intimidation through so-called digital arrest scams.
The team traced transactions linked to a suspected mule bank account, contacted victims and coordinated with banks, cybercrime helplines and police authorities in different states to prevent further financial losses.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ'๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐
The investigation began after a retired military officer from Delhi's Sagarpur lodged a complaint through the national cybercrime helpline, 1930.
On September 14, the officer was allegedly contacted by fraudsters impersonating officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). They claimed that SIM cards and credit cards obtained using his Aadhaar details had been misused in Canada.
He was subsequently connected through a video call to another fraudster posing as an IPS officer from Daryaganj police station, who threatened to arrest him in a money laundering case.
The victim transferred money from his Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India accounts in multiple transactions.
An e-FIR was registered on September 29. While tracing the money, investigators discovered that part of it had reached a suspected mule account in Hyderabad.
Further analysis revealed that five other victims had transferred money into the same account between September 21 and 29, allowing police to identify individuals who were still being targeted.
๐๐น๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ต๐ถ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
In one case, a 77-year-old retired Airports Authority of India employee from Najafgarh had transferred Rs 25 lakh to the account on September 29.
Investigators discovered that the man had allegedly been kept under digital arrest at his home since September 17 through repeated video calls by fraudsters impersonating police officers.
The victim lived with his wife, while his son resided in Australia.
Initially reluctant to trust the Delhi Police team, the elderly man was counselled and advised to verify the officers' identities through the national cybercrime helpline and the officer heading the victim protection team.
Police obtained his transaction details, helped register an e-FIR and alerted the Dwarka cyber police station. An officer also visited his residence to reassure him.
The fraudsters had demanded another Rs 3 lakh and pressured him to pledge gold and silver valuables. The intervention ended the alleged digital arrest and prevented an additional loss of approximately Rs 3.48 lakh.
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ท๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ'๐ ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
In Rajasthan, an 80-year-old cloth trader and his wife were allegedly threatened by fraudsters who claimed that illegal activities had been linked to his Aadhaar details.
The couple, who lived alone following their son's death, had already transferred Rs 18 lakh.
The fraudsters were demanding another Rs 10 lakh and pressuring the elderly man to mortgage his house to arrange the amount.
The Delhi Police team connected him with Rajasthan's cybercrime helpline and helped him register a complaint.
Following counselling, he stopped making payments, preventing a further loss of Rs 10 lakh and protecting the couple's home from being mortgaged.
๐จ๐ฃ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ก๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ
Another case involved a retired nurse and her husband, a former railway employee aged around 70, in Uttar Pradesh.
Investigators traced a transfer of Rs 25 lakh from the woman's Indian Overseas Bank account to the suspected mule account.
The fraudsters allegedly told the couple that their Aadhaar details had been used to open a bank account connected to a bomb blast in Jammu and Kashmir and that the National Investigation Agency had registered a case against them.
The couple had already transferred approximately Rs 52 lakh and were being pressured to break a fixed deposit worth Rs 10 lakh.
The team counselled the victims, helped them contact the state's cybercrime helpline and facilitated a formal complaint, preventing the additional transfer.
๐ ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฑ ๐น๐ฎ๐ธ๐ต ๐น๐ผ๐๐
In Maharashtra, a 65-year-old hospital assistant had transferred Rs 42 lakh into the suspected mule account.
The fraudsters allegedly claimed that his Aadhaar details were linked to a bomb blast case and that the NIA was investigating him for money laundering.
They instructed him not to disclose the matter to anyone, including his family.
After allegedly extracting around Rs 85 lakh, the fraudsters demanded another Rs 55 lakh, including Rs 30 lakh from a fixed deposit belonging to his daughter and Rs 25 lakh from one held by his son-in-law.
They claimed the money would be sent to the Reserve Bank of India for verification and returned later.
Police helped the victim register a complaint through Maharashtra's cybercrime helpline, preventing the additional transfer of Rs 55 lakh.
๐๐๐ท๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ
The fifth case involved a 50-year-old businessman from Gujarat who had fallen victim to a fraudulent investment scheme.
He transferred Rs 25 lakh from his bank account to the suspected mule account in multiple transactions on September 29.
When initially contacted by investigators, he described the transfers as legitimate investments and said he would verify the matter.
During a follow-up call on October 1, he realised he had been defrauded and informed the team that he was preparing to lodge a complaint through his advocate.
He disclosed that he had planned to invest approximately Rs 1 crore in total.
The intervention prevented further transfers amounting to Rs 75 lakh.
According to police, the five cases together accounted for potential additional losses of Rs 1.53 crore, including Rs 3.48 lakh in Delhi, Rs 10 lakh each in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, Rs 55 lakh in Maharashtra and Rs 75 lakh in Gujarat.
Officials said the operation demonstrated how tracing suspicious transactions and contacting potential victims before additional payments are made can help interrupt ongoing cyber fraud schemes.