Overview
- Cyber cell investigators in Mumbai said Monday they arrested autorickshaw driver Ashok Pal after following the Rs 1.57 crore money trail in a “digital arrest” case involving a 69-year-old Andheri resident.
- Officers said callers posed as police and court officials, sent fake warrants, staged a video “hearing,” and ordered the victim to move savings and investments into accounts they claimed were for an investigation.
- Mumbai police also reported a laundering method in which fraud proceeds were routed through layers of accounts into petrol pump balances, with a 23-year-old cash-conversion agent held and small sums frozen as probes widen.
- In a separate FIR registered March 26 in Mumbra, a 29-year-old woman told police a supposed UK-based groom and a fake airport officer pushed her to transfer Rs 6.75 lakh between February 2 and March 12.
- A 73-year-old Mulund retiree reported losing Rs 3.77 lakh after a WhatsApp gas-bill message led him to install a malicious app and enter card details, and he then alerted the 1930 national cybercrime helpline.