Kerala: Congress MLA alleges 'digital arrest' scam attempt, files complaint

Senior Congress leader and Kerala MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan has filed a police complaint after cyber fraudsters attempted to trap him through a socalled lsquodigital arrestrsquo scam reported the PTIRadhakrishnan who represents the Kottayam Assembly constituency and is a former home minister in the Oommen Chandy government said he received a call from an unidentified person warning him that he would be placed under lsquodigital arrestrsquoSpeaking to PTI on Thursday Radhakrishnan said he suspected fraud from the startldquoThey made a WhatsApp call and spoke about a lsquodigital arrestrsquo I realised it was a scam immediately and did not engage furtherrdquo he said according to the PTIAccording to people close to him the call was received on Wednesday afternoon from a person claiming to be an official of the Mumbai Police The caller alleged that financial fraud had been committed using Radhakrishnanrsquos Aadhaar number and that a case had been registeredRadhakrishnan reportedly asked the caller to contact the police for further details and then disconnected the callComplaint submitted to state police chiefThe MLA said he has submitted a complaint to the Kerala state police chief and expects a formal probeto be launched once a case is registeredRise in digital arrest scams in KeralaKerala has witnessed a rise in lsquodigital arrestrsquo scams in recent months with fraudsters mainly targeting elderly peopleIn such scams criminals impersonate law enforcement officials falsely accuse individuals of illegal activities and intimidate them into transferring money under the threat of arrestSenior citizen placed under digital arrest in Mumbai loses Rs 165 lakhA 75yearold retired civic official has allegedly been duped of Rs 165 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as ATS and NIA personnel and placed him under digital arrest for interrogation claiming his name surfaced in the Delhi bomb blast case police said reported news agency PTIThe victim a resident of Andheri East in Mumbai approached the West Region Cyber Police Station on Monday an official said on Wednesday reported PTIScam linked to fake probe into Delhi blast caseAn explosiveladen vehicle detonated outside the historic Red Fortin Delhi on November 10 last year killing over 12 personsAccording to the police the victim a retired official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation received a call on December 11 from unidentified persons claiming to be officers from the Delhi antiterrorism department The caller threatened him saying his name had surfaced in the Delhi bomb blast case and that he needed to be interrogated secretly reported PTIThe caller then asked the victim to download the Signal application where he received a video call During the call one of the fraudsters posed as National Investigation Agency NIA officer Sadanand Date reported PTIVictim warned of money laundering caseThe caller told the victim that a bank account linked to his mobile number had allegedly received Rs 7 crore through money laundering activities and warned that he would be arrested in the case the police saidCiting the seriousness of the matter and its alleged connection to national security the caller instructed the victim not to discuss the issue with anyone reported PTIMoney transferred for lsquoverificationrsquo caller vanishesThe fraudsters claimed that the agency needed to verify whether his investments and deposits were from legal sources and asked the victim to transfer his money to certain bank accounts for verification a police official saidAccordingly the victim deposited Rs 165 lakh following which the caller blocked his numberCase registered against unidentified accusedThe victim later approached the cyber police and lodged a complaint based on which a case has been registered against unidentified persons the official saidDigital arrest is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement court officials or personnel from government agencies to intimidate victims through audio and video calls They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay moneyWith inputs from PTI