Ahmedabad man, 73, told his name surfaced in child porn case, duped of Rs 16 lakh

A 73-year-old retired professor in Ahmedabad was duped of Rs 16.18 lakh by fraudsters using the infamous "digital arrest" scam. The scammers had allegedly posed as police officers and told the unsuspecting man that his mobile number and linked Aadhaar details had been used in illegal transactions, gambling and the exchange of child pornographic material.After realising the deception, the senior citizen lodged a complaint detailing how the fraudsters kept him under constant surveillance through video calls and threatened to arrest him as part of a supposed investigation.According to the complainant, he received a call on August 29 from an unknown number. The caller, who identified himself as Chirag Rawat, claimed to be a police officer from Varanasi.He told the elderly man that his mobile number was found linked to illegal bank transactions worth crores of rupees. The scammer further tricked him into believing that a case had been registered against him in connection with gambling and child pornography.The former professor later received a WhatsApp video call from another person, who appeared in a police uniform and claimed to be an anti-terrorism squad (ATS) inspector named Prem Gautam, per the complaint. The second scammer allegedly told the man that he could be arrested in connection with the "case" against him, but because of his age, the investigation could instead be conducted from his home through video calls.The fraudsters also instructed the man not to disclose the matter to anyone and began monitoring him through frequent WhatsApp messages and video calls.On August 31, they allegedly demanded details of his various bank accounts and bank statements.The following day, they claimed that his bank account had been verified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as part of the investigation and assured him that any money transferred would be returned.Trusting their claims, the man transferred Rs 11.03 lakh to a bank account provided by the accused on September 1. He then transferred another Rs 5.15 lakh to the same account on September 2, taking the total amount to Rs 16.18 lakh.The fraudsters then sent him a fake receipt through WhatsApp, claiming it had been issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and told him that the probe was still underway.On September 5, the complainant received another call from a WhatsApp number, with the caller again identifying himself as Prem Gautam.Four days later, on September 9, the fraudsters sent him a fake no-objection certificate (NOC), which was made to look like it was issued by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).They subsequently told him that the probe against him had concluded. However, when the retired professor later tried to contact them on their mobile numbers, he failed to get any response.The senior citizen then realised that he had been cheated and informed his wife and son about it before approaching the police.- Ends