Published on: Dec 01, 2025 05:43 am IST
FIR filed after the victim was isolated for days and told her accounts were linked to money laundering.
A 70-year-old woman was duped of ₹78.9 lakh in a “digital arrest” scam on November 25, where cyber fraudsters posing as police officers convinced her that her bank accounts were being used for money laundering and confined her to her home, officials said on Sunday.
According to police, the woman was identified as Tamita Sethi, a resident of M3M Merlin in Sector 67. Based on her complaint on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), an FIR was registered at the Cybercrime police station (south) on Friday.
According to investigators, the 70-year-old was first contacted by fraudsters on her landline number on November 21. They impersonated representatives of a DTH company, and told the woman that an “arrest warrant” had been issued against her.
“The woman, who was already in panic, received another phone call minutes later. The caller inquired about her medical and bank records. The fraudsters wanted her to dilute her fixed deposits (FDs),” a police officer said, quoting from the victim’s complaint.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman received a video call from another man, who was dressed as a police officer and had a police flag in the background.
“The caller asked the woman to transfer her savings into two bank accounts for investigation related to her alleged links to the laundered money, assuring the woman that the money will soon be credited back to her account,” the senior official added.
Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said: The caller then warned her not to leave the apartment. “She was cut off from her family during this period. The 70-year-old finally contacted her daughter on November 28 and filed a complaint on the same day. However, the fraudsters had already transferred ₹78.9 lakh into their accounts.”
Turan said an FIR under sections 318(4) (cheating with prior knowledge) and 319 (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against the unidentified suspects, adding that further investigation remains underway.