Three arrested for ‘digital arrest’ scam targeting retired seniors

Madurai: City cybercrime police have arrested three men for allegedly cheating two retired senior citizens by impersonating law enforcement officials and using a fake "digital arrest" ploy to extort money.According to police, complaints were received on May 15, from two retired residents of Madurai, who reported that they were defrauded of several lakhs of rupees. The victims told police that they received phone calls from a person claiming to be a crime branch inspector from the Chennai DGP's office.The caller alleged that their Aadhaar details had been misused to open bank accounts involved in illegal transactions and that a case had been registered against them by the anti-terrorist squad (ATS) in Lucknow.Subsequently, the victims were contacted through WhatsApp video calls by another person posing as a senior ATS officer, who showed forged documents, including a purported Supreme Court arrest warrant. The accused threatened immediate arrest and coerced the victims into transferring money to bank accounts provided by them, falsely claiming it was part of the investigation process.Based on the complaints, cybercrime police registered a case and launched an investigation. On Tuesday (May 19), police arrested three suspects, Abdul Basoolur Rahuman, 34 , Sakabudeen, 34, and Javid, 26, of Vellore district. They were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.