LUCKNOW: A retired Food Corporation of India (FCI) officer and his wife in Lucknow were allegedly kept under “digital arrest” for 19 days by cyber fraudsters who impersonated investigating agency officials and duped them of ₹42 lakh, police said.The victims, Ansar Jamal Abbasi, a resident of Lalbagh, and his wife were subjected to prolonged interrogation over WhatsApp audio and video calls and repeatedly threatened with arrest in a fabricated money-laundering case purportedly linked to Jet Airways owner Naresh Goyal. A case was registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station on Tuesday night based on Abbasi’s complaint, and police said efforts were underway to freeze the transferred money.According to the FIR, the alleged scam began on July 23 when Abbasi received an audio call on WhatsApp. The caller claimed that terrorists arrested in connection with the Pulwama attack had named Naresh Goyal during questioning and that documents recovered in the probe showed a SIM card had been purchased in Abbasi’s name. The caller further alleged that a bank account in Karnataka’s ICICI Bank had been opened using Abbasi’s identity and was being used in the case.The caller told the retired officer that while he was “involved,” he would not be arrested because he was a senior citizen. Instead, the fraudster said Abbasi and his wife were being placed under “digital arrest” and kept the victim under questioning until around 10 pm. During the interrogation, the accused sought details of the couple’s bank accounts, fixed deposits and the jewellery owned by Abbasi’s wife.The complainant said the fraudsters later sent what appeared to be official National Investigation Agency (NIA) documents, which were subsequently found to be fake. The next morning, Abbasi received a WhatsApp video call in which another man introduced himself as an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer from Pune and claimed the case had been transferred and would now be handled by a Central Bureau of Investigation officer. The callers also claimed a High Court judge would speak to the couple and said a “jammer” had been activated on their phones to prevent them from contacting anyone.Police said the alleged digital confinement continued until Aug 10, during which ₹42 lakh was extracted through multiple transactions. The calls ended around 10 pm on Aug 10, after which the couple approached authorities. Inspector Alok Rao said the matter was under investigation and banks had been contacted to initiate fund-freezing procedures.Inspector Alok Rao said the case was being investigated and that police had contacted the concerned banks to initiate the process of freezing the transferred funds.The case highlights how cybercriminals continue to exploit fear of arrest and impersonate agencies such as the NIA, CBI and ATS to trap senior citizens. In such scams, fraudsters typically create a sense of urgency, isolate victims from family members and keep them engaged on video or audio calls while extracting sensitive financial information and money.
