A 63-year-old retired teacher from Mumbai was put under a fake “digital arrest” and cheated of over Rs 32.69 lakh by fraudsters posing as officers of the Anti-Terrorism Squad, in a scam that relied less on hacking and more on fear.

The threat

The victim, a resident of Goregaon East, was thrown into a state of fear when she received a call from men claiming to be officers from the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). The callers alleged that her bank account was linked to funding the infamous ‘Pulwama Terror Attack’, a claim designed to shock and intimidate.