Mumbai Cyber Fraud: 63-Year-Old Retired Air Force Officer Targeted In ₹2.55-Crore 'Digital Arrest' Scam By Fake Police, ATS Officials
Mumbai, September 9, 2026: A 63-year-old retired Air Force officer from Sion, Mumbai, has become the latest target of cybercriminals attempting to extort money through a digital arrest scam. Posing as senior police and anti-terror officials, the fraudsters allegedly threatened him with arrest in a money-laundering and terror-funding case involving transactions worth Rs 2.55 crore. The victim,…
Mumbai, September 9, 2026 - A 63-year-old retired Air Force officer from Sion, Mumbai, identified as Shridhar Atmaram Bari, has fallen victim to a cyber fraud scheme known as a digital arrest scam. The fraudsters impersonated senior police and anti-terrorism officials, threatening him with arrest in a money laundering and terrorist financing case involving transactions totaling Rs 2.55 crore.
According to the FIR, Bari received a call on August 2 from an unknown mobile number, claiming to be Mukesh Kumar from the Palghar Superintendent of Police’s office. Kumar, together with a person claiming to be Inspector Vijaykumar, allegedly informed Bari that a money laundering case had been registered against him and that the funds used were for terrorist activities.
The fraudsters then ordered Bari to appear in Palghar within two hours or face arrest. When Bari refused to travel to Palghar, the call was transferred to another imposter, Inspector Khanna of the Anti-Terrorist Squad headquarters in Lucknow. Khanna allegedly informed Bari about an ICICI Bank account opened in his name in Hubballi-Dharwad, Karnataka, with transactions totaling Rs 2.55 crore taking place between January 1 and January 29, 2026.
Bari denied any prior knowledge of the account. The fraudsters subsequently sent Bari a PDF containing a forged NIA logo and a Confidentiality Agreement, demanding he write a letter stating the account did not exist and send it via WhatsApp. On the following day, a person claiming to be senior officer Premkumar Gautam contacted Bari via WhatsApp video call, presenting a fake debit card with Bari’s details and allegedly requesting Aadhaar card information.
Upon realizing he was being targeted, Bari refused to transfer any money and sought police assistance. A case has been registered against the accused, who are alleged to have impersonated police officials, prepared forged documents, and operated the fraudulent mobile numbers and WhatsApp accounts involved in the scam.
Written by urgent.news from Free Press Journal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
