Hyderabad: A couple were duped out of Rs 1.83 crore after falling prey to a digital arrest scam in Mokila, Rangareddy, where fraudsters posed as officials from the National Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).

According to a report in the Newsmeter, the fraudsters first contacted the husband on November 27, claiming to be from the I4C office in Bengaluru and alleged that he had been identified as a suspect in a harassment case.

The fraudsters managed to get his Aadhaar details, after which he was contacted by another person identifying himself as a police control room in-charge, who offered to ‘settle’ the matter and issue a clearance certificate.

The ordeal did not end here. The husband was contacted by another person who told him he was involved in an international woman trafficking case.

Later, the victim and his wife were asked to appear on a video call with a fake CBI officer who threatened to send them to 90 days of judicial custody if they did not cooperate.

When the couple pleaded, the fraudsters said that they were being placed under temporary digital arrest and asked them not to speak to anyone or leave their house.

The couple were asked to transfer money to different bank accounts for ‘verification’ and assured that the money would be returned after the investigation was complete.

However, when the fraudsters called again, asking for details of the victims’ land, gold and other assets, warning that they would soon visit their residence, the victims reached out to their acquaintances who identified the act as a scam.

A complaint was then registered with the Cyberabad cybercrime police, and an investigation was started. One person from Sholapur, identified as Laxman Hanuman, has been arrested for allegedly providing fraudsters with his account to facilitate the crime and has been sent to judicial remand, the investigation officer told Siasat.com.