A man was arrested for alleged involvement in a racket in which an 81-year-old woman was duped of Rs 7.8 crore using the `digital arrest` modus operandi, a Mumbai police official said on Thursday, reported the PTI.

The accused, 21-year-old Kartik Chaudhary of Malvani in Malad area of Mumbai, allegedly provided his bank account to another associate, through which Rs 1.98 lakh was transferred from the victim`s account, the official said.

“Chaudhary withdrew the amount and handed it over to another accomplice, whom he had come in contact with through Telegram app. In return, he received a commission,” the official said, according to the PTI.

“The octogenarian victim, who is a resident of south Mumbai, had not lodged a complaint in the case. However, police received information about the massive fund transfer through internal inputs and began a probe. After a police team visited the woman`s residence, an FIR was lodged against unidentified persons,” he said, as per the PTI.

The arrest marks a crucial step in curbing the rising cases of digital frauds in the city, the official added.

The Mumbai cyber police is conducting further probe to arrest others involved in the case, the official informed.

Meanwhile, in April this year, Mumbai Police had launched two helplines to help those trapped in the digital arrest situation.

The helpline numbers are 7715004444 and 7400086 666, an official said, adding they will work round-the-clock for victims of `digital arrest` scam.

What is digital arrest?

`Digital arrest` is a modus operandi in which cyber fraudsters monitor a victim through channels like Skype and video calls while pressuring them into transferring huge sums of money in order to be let off in non-existent cases.

The cases of digital arrest scam have increased alarmingly in the last couple of years.

In such scams, fraudsters call a person posing as officials of law enforcement agencies such as police, CBI, Enforcement Directorate and Customs, and claim that their mobile number, Aadhaar or bank account has been used for money laundering or some other illegal activity.

The person is told they are under `digital arrest`, and must not disconnect the call or even leave the room where they are and contact anyone including police.

They are then asked to transfer money to certain bank accounts. Scared, a person is very likely to follow the instructions in such cases, and end up losing money to cyber criminals, some of them operating from outside India.

If they receive any such call, people should contact the helpline numbers, the police official said.

In case of emergency, Mumbai Police can also send their teams to the victim`s place, he added. 

(with PTI inputs)

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