Investigators went through four states, multiple bank accounts and a network of nearly 300 accounts allegedly linked to fake gaming apps before cyber police managed to recover ₹ 43.14 lakh.
An octogenarian lady doctor of Lucknow was swindled of ₹ 1.55-crore through “digital arrest”.
The cyber crime team coordinated with the concerned banks and other agencies to freeze the accounts involved in the fraud. From there, the money was moved into an IndusInd Bank account in Gurugram before being dispersed into around 300 other accounts. As a result, ₹ 43,14,024 of the ₹ 1.55 crore allegedly cheated from the doctor has been returned to her, police said additional DCP (crime) Kiran Yadav adding that the department was making sustained efforts to identify and arrest the accused and recover the remaining amount.
The entire amount was initially transferred by the victim into four accounts in Kerala, Karnataka, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Maharashtra, according to the Lucknow Cyber Crime Police. “Investigators found that the money was subsequently used in what police described as payout settlements of a fake gaming app/website, creating a complicated trail intended to make tracking the stolen funds difficult,” a release from the cyber police read. Police reiterated that no government agency carries out a “digital arrest” through video calls and advised people not to panic if threatened with such calls.
Police said a case was registered at the Cyber Crime police station under sections 318(4), 319(2) and 351(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. The investigation is continuing.
