In one of the biggest cyber fraud cases in Uttar Pradesh in recent years, retired airport director and his wife lost ₹70 lakh, their entire life savings, in a sophisticated seven-day “digital arrest” scam in Lucknow.
The victims, Bholanath Prasad Bhagat, a retired airport director, and his wife Madhuri Bhagat, were allegedly subjected to continuous psychological pressure and intimidation by cybercriminals posing as senior officials from the Police Headquarters, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The fraudsters contacted the couple over the phone and video calls in what they said were their guise that they were under investigation related to a major national security case, the complaint indicates.
The callers said the couple were in cahoots with financial crimes and activities that endangered national security and created panic and fear. The fraudsters, to make it look like they were doing so, forged identification cards, fabricated official documents, and fake video conference sets that looked like government investigations, the complaint said.
The cybercriminals warned the couple they would be arrested and legal action would be taken if they didn’t cooperate, according to the report. They advised the victims not to tell relatives, friends, or neighbours about the case because disclosure would interfere with the investigation and could cause them more severe legal consequences.
The fraudsters had contact with the couple until March to keep them under what has become known as a “digital arrest” a mechanism in which victims are routinely kept under constant virtual surveillance and psychological control.
The next seven days, Bholanath Prasad Bhagat and Madhuri Bhagat were forced to follow every instruction given by the fraudsters. They prematurely broke their fixed deposits and liquidated their savings. The fraudsters then convinced them to transfer the money into multiple bank accounts and falsely promised that the funds would be verified by government agencies and come back after the investigation was completed.
So trusting the callers and fearing criminal prosecution, the couple transferred ₹70 lakh to them in total and wiped out their lifetime savings. It was only after the communication stopped and the promised refund did not materialise that they realized they had been deceived. They approached the police and filed a complaint with the cybercrime authorities.
The investigation has been launched by the law enforcement agencies. Bank account information, digital payment trails, mobile phone records, IP addresses, and other electronic evidence are being investigated to find out who orchestrated the fraud and the people that did it. And the authorities are working with financial institutions to trace the movement of the money and to try and recover some of the lost money.
The incident shows the growing number of digital arrest scams in India. In such frauds, criminals impersonate officials from agencies like the police, CBI, NIA, Enforcement Directorate, customs authorities, or cybercrime units.
In the process of fraudsters getting victims to transfer the money through fear and psychological manipulation (account verification, security deposits, or legal clearance), victims are told they are in fact involved in serious crimes, such as money laundering, drug trafficking, or terrorism investigations.
Cybersecurity experts and law enforcement agencies have repeatedly warned that no legitimate government agency conducts investigations through prolonged video calls, demands money transfers to avoid arrest, or asks people to remain isolated from family members during an investigation. Any such demand should immediately raise suspicion.
The experts suggest that we verify the identity of anyone who acts as if they are representing the government. People should not transfer their money just on a phone call or video conference and should never share banking credentials, OTPs, passwords, or sensitive financial information with anyone not authorized to transfer them, they say. If we get the call, we should disconnect it immediately and report them to the nearest police station or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
The Lucknow case is a stark reminder that cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated and even educated and retired professionals are targets of sophisticated scams. And authorities urge people to be vigilant and check for suspicious communications through official channels and to inform the public about digital arrest frauds to avoid others becoming victims of similar crimes.
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