KOCHI: An 81-year-old retired doctor in Kochi fell victim to a sophisticated “digital arrest” scam after fraudsters posing as CBI officers coerced him into transferring ₹1.3 crore.
The Call That Sparked Panic
It began with a call that seemed official. According to the first information report (FIR) filed with Kochi City’s Cyber Crime Police, the accused — identifying themselves as officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation — contacted the elderly doctor over phone and WhatsApp. The calls, placed at 10:30 a.m. on November 1 and again at 3:30 p.m. on November 6, warned that criminal activities had been traced to another phone number allegedly registered in his name.
Posing as law enforcement personnel, the scammers claimed that a money-laundering case had been lodged against him. The terrified doctor, who lived alone in an apartment on Chathyath Road, complied with their instructions, unaware that he was being drawn into a calculated psychological trap.
Coerced Transfers and Threats of Exposure
On November 4, the impostors escalated the pressure. Claiming to be investigating the “illicit flow of funds,” they demanded access to the doctor’s financial details — investments, bank accounts, and sources of income — supposedly to verify his innocence. Over the next hours, they succeeded in forcing him to transfer ₹1.3 crore to a different account, under the pretext of “temporary verification.”
When the doctor hesitated, the criminals threatened to circulate his personal photos and financial data on social media, warning of arrest and public humiliation if he disclosed their calls to anyone. It was only after the transfer was completed that he realized the deception.
Bank Moves to Freeze the Funds
A top police officer said around ₹1 crore of the defrauded amount has already been frozen by the bank concerned, halting further withdrawals. “The money can be recovered through due procedures and legal steps,” the officer said, noting that this early intervention may prevent total loss.
The case has been registered under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita — Section 316 (criminal breach of trust), Section 318 (cheating), and Section 351 (criminal intimidation) — alongside Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, which addresses cheating by impersonation through computer resources.
The FIR names two accused — Devilal Singh and Pranav Dhayal — along with other unidentified individuals suspected to be part of a larger organized cybercrime network.
The Broader Crackdown: Operation Cy-Hunt
The incident coincides with Operation Cy-Hunt, a State-wide initiative aimed at dismantling organized online fraud rings. Police sources confirmed that over 284 people have been arrested across Kerala in recent months, many of them for facilitating financial transactions linked to cyber scams.
The Mattanchery police, for instance, recently investigated a similar case involving a 59-year-old woman who lost ₹2.88 crore in a phone-based fraud, allegedly orchestrated by a Maharashtra native. Investigators see striking parallels between these incidents — from fake law enforcement personas to the use of encrypted messaging platforms and rapid fund diversions through mule accounts.
As cybercriminals continue to refine their impersonation tactics, police officials warn that elderly citizens and professionals — particularly those living alone — remain prime targets for psychological manipulation.
“These cases reflect a new wave of social engineering,” said an officer familiar with the investigation. “It’s not just about hacking systems anymore; it’s about hacking trust.”
