CHENNAI: A retired school teacher from Tiruchy was allegedly cheated of Rs 17 lakh after cyber fraudsters threatened her in a ‘digital arrest’ scam.
According to a Daily Thanthi report, Philomin Raj (67), a resident of VOC Street in Ariyamangalam claimed that his wife, a retired school teacher, received a call from an unknown number on August 31.
The caller identified himself as Madhan Kumar and claimed to be an official from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The caller allegedly told her that a bank account had been opened in a nationalised bank using her Aadhaar details and that a large amount of money had been transferred through the account. He further threatened that she would be arrested unless she paid money to avoid arrest.
Believing the caller's claims, the woman transferred Rs 17 lakh to a bank account provided by him. She later realised that she had been duped after the caller's mobile phone was switched off when she tried to contact him.
Following the incident, Philomin Raj lodged an online complaint with the Cyber Crime Police.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case and launched an investigation to trace the caller and recover the money.
Police have also been probing the bank account to which the amount was transferred.