Hyderabad: Mother, daughters lose Rs. 5.5 cr in ‘Digital Arrest’

A 69-year-old two-step mother in Hyderabad’s Basheerbagh was duped into losing 5.66 crore in a ‘digital arrest’ scam. The money was wired from multiple accounts of the victim and her two daughters in 14 separate transactions over 20 days, beginning on November 14.

Upon hearing that her Aadhaar-related mobile number was connected to a money-laundering case, the victim was requested to send all her funds for authentication, on condition that they be returned. The woman transferred her life savings to at least nine accounts, such as HDFC, YES Bank, ICICI Bank, Bandhan Bank and IndusInd, offered by the crooks over Skype.

The three scammers — claiming to be the officers of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) — ‘taught’ the victims what they were supposed to tell the bankers when asked about the massive deals. They offered advice on buying a car or property; charity; and private reasons.

The incident in this case and the dozens others we have reported across the country reflects deficiencies in the banking system.

Senior officers of several Indian banks, cyber-security experts and the police cited a lack of standardised processes to identify fraudulent transactions, and demanded that bank-to-bank customer verification should be redesigned.

Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) Director Shikha Goel said technological intervention to detect mule accounts could revolutionise the fight against a cyber-fraudster. "It’s strange that a huge amount coming into one account gets distributed among multiple accounts in a matter of seconds. Banks would have to monitor accounts, large and small, which receive transactions at this speed. It’s also imperative that government officials are notified at once if accounts pop up for very short periods of time or experience massive volumes of transfers into and out of other parts of the country,’ she added.