Hyderabad: SBI Averts Digital Arrest, Saves Rs 46 Lakh of Customer

 Hyderabad: The staff of the State Bank of India (SBI), Chandrayangutta branch, rescued a senior citizen from the new fraud called ‘digital arrest’ and stopped him from transferring Rs 46 lakh to scamsters on Friday, a bank official said.

The victim, a retired PSU employee, visited the branch with his wife and presented a cheque at the counter to transfer Rs 46 lakh, along with a request form for an RTGS transaction. The bank official can debit the amount from customer's account and transfer it, SBI assistant general manager G. Ramakrishna told Deccan Chronicle.

"B. Praveen, senior associate, who was at the counter, sensed something was wrong as the customer was looking tense and restless. He escorted the elderly couple to branch head Dr Shiva Kumar, who made them feel comfortable and asked them about the transfer,” Ramakrishna earlier said in a press release.

The pensioner said he had received a video call in which a man claiming to be from the CBI said the pensioner’s Aadhaar number was linked to a `100 crore scam. The fraudsters held the couple hostage for three days. They forbade the couple from contacting anyone and said their associates were waiting outside the house.

They threatened to arrest him and his son if the victim do not transfer Rs 46 lakh immediately to their account. In desperation, the customer and his wife visited the bank, where the scam came to light.

Branch manager Dr Shiva Kumar immediately filed a complaint with the cybercrime helpline 1930. They also contacted the bank, which was mentioned by the fraudsters, and confirmed that no account had been opened with the customer's credentials.