Mumbai shocker: Digitally arrested woman asked to strip for ‘body verification’, duped of ₹1.7 lakh
In another shocking digital arrest case in Maharashtra’s Mumbai, a 26-year-old woman was duped of Rs. 1.7 lakh after being told that her name had come up in a money laundering case. The police have also revealed that the victim was forced to strip during her ordeal on a video call.
The woman revealed in her complaint to the police that she got a call on November 19 with the scammers told her that they were the officers of the Delhi Police. After that, they went on to tell her that her name had come up in a money laundering investigation linked to jailed Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal, according to an NDTV report.
The woman is said to be the resident of Borivali East area of Mumbai and works in the pharmaceutical industry, with no connection to Jet Airways.
The callers threatened her that she would be arrested before shifting her to a video call. They even told her that she would need to book a hotel room so that the investigation could be taken forward as she was under ‘digital arrest’.
As it went on, the scammers told the woman to strip naked for ‘body verification’, which she obliged. She was also asked to transfer Rs. 1.7 lakhs from her account for her ‘bank details verification’. The woman went on to transfer the amount to the scammers, according to the FIR.
The victim approached the police on November 28 after realising that it was all a scam. Mumbai Police has registered a case under BNS and IT Act and an investigation is underway.
Digital Arrest MO
Digital Arrest is a kind of scam where people get a call, mostly on WhatsApp, and are told that they are under investigation by government agencies. They are instructed to not get off the video call and not tell anyone about the case. They are then asked to transfer money to the scammers saying that it is needed to verify bank details and assurance that it will be returned if the person is found innocent.
Industrialist Paul Oswal was also duped of Rs. 7 crore in a similar scam using Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal’s name. More recently, a 77-year-old in Mumbai had to face the ordeal for a month, losing Rs. 3.8 crore.
Such cases have been on a rise recently and the agencies have advised people to be vary of such calls.