Hyderabad: The Cybercrime police in Hyderabad apprehended two fraudsters in Gujarat on Monday, December 29, for siphoning off Rs 1.95 crore from a victim through a digital arrest scam.
The accused persons, Saiyad Soyab Jahid Bhai and Belim Anas Rahim Bhai, residents of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, used multiple mule bank accounts to receive and withdraw the stolen money, which was later transferred to cyber fraudsters in Dubai via hawala networks.
According to the police, the victim filed a complaint on December 13, claiming that she was “trapped in a digital arrest.” She accused the fraudsters of impersonating government officials, who also issued threats, stating her husband was involved in serious crimes.
After several intimidation attempts, they subsequently convinced her to transfer large amounts of money on the pretext of ‘verification of currency numbers.’ They also promised the victim help in clearing her husband’s alleged crimes.
The accused, Belim and Saiyad, are habitual offenders and are involved in 22 cases so far, the cybercrime police said in a release.
Saiyad, who assisted in opening mule bank accounts, received 15 per cent of the commission, and Belim, who managed the accounts on the orders of the higher-level individuals, ensured that the funds were successfully transferred overseas.
A total of Rs 3.5 crore worth of transactions was carried out, including the previous cases, across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
Previously, a 68-year-old woman from Mumbai was similarly duped of 3.71 crore in a digital arrest scam. The police traced the cybercrime racket to Surat in Gujarat, where one accused was arrested. The crime took place between August 18 and October 13.
