{
  "id": 16479514,
  "title": "'Digital Arrest' Scam: Fraudsters Pose As Police, RBI Officials To Dupe Retired Tax Officer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/25/digital-arrest-scam-fraudsters-pose-as-police-rbi-officials-to-dupe",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-25T13:25:44.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/digital-arrest-scam-fraudsters-pose-as-police-rbi-officials-to-dupe-retired-tax-officer"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A retired Income Tax officer in his 50s from Nagpur has become the latest victim of a sophisticated cyber extortion scheme in Mumbai, police report. The victim was duped by scammers who impersonated senior law enforcement and regulatory officials.\n\nThe fraudsters began their multi-day assault on October 1 by calling the victim, falsely identifying themselves as Keshav Jadhav, an operative stationed at Mumbai Police Headquarters. The victim was informed that a WhatsApp account under his name had been flagged for illegal advertisements. The scam quickly became a psychologically intimidating ordeal.\n\nTwo days later, on October 3, the fraudsters transferred the call to another accomplice posing as a police investigator. They told the victim that his identification credentials had been found at a crime scene related to a terrorist attack in Kashmir. The impostors threatened to arrest him immediately, effectively putting him under a \"digital arrest.\"\n\nFor five days, between October 2 and October 6, a fraudster posing as a high-ranking Indian Police Service investigator conducted daily video interrogations. The scammers claimed they were conducting a financial sweep under the RBI's authorization, alleging the victim's accounts were linked to a massive money laundering scheme. Under duress, the victim was coerced into withdrawing Rs 10 lakhs from a fixed deposit to \"satisfy\" the RBI officials.\n\nThe victim transferred the money on October 8 to a corporate account, only to realize the fraudulence after communication was cut off. The victim then filed a complaint with the Cyber Police, who are now investigating the mule accounts involved in the transfer to trace the stolen funds.",
  "summary": "Mumbai: A 57-year-old retired senior Income Tax officer from Mumbai fell victim to a sophisticated cyber extortion network. The victim, a resident of Nagpur, filed a formal complaint detailing a multi-day ordeal orchestrated by fraudsters impersonating senior law enforcement and regulatory authorities. According to the police, the elaborate deception began on October 1, when the victim received…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}