Cyberabad Cybercrime Police Crack Five Cases, Arrest 10; Bust 60 Lakh Digital Arrest Fraud

Hyderabad: Cyberabad cybercrime police said they had detected five cybercrime cases and arrested 10 offenders from different states between May 6 and 14, exposing a pan-India network of cybercriminals involved in digital arrest scams, trading frauds and financial cyber offences.

According to Cyberabad cybercrime DCP T. Sai Manohar, the cases included a digital arrest fraud, three trading scams and one case under Operation Crackdown. The arrests were made as part of a coordinated investigation into organised cybercrime syndicates.

In a major breakthrough, cybercrime police busted a digital arrest fraud in which a victim was cheated of Rs 60 lakh by fraudsters posing as officials from the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), Lucknow. The officer said the fraudsters falsely claimed that a bank account had been opened using the Aadhaar details of the victim for money laundering involving Rs 2.55 crore. The accused intimidated the victim through WhatsApp video calls, where a person dressed in police uniform posed as an officer and placed the victim under a fake digital arrest.

The fraudsters used forged arrest orders, fake NIA records and fabricated RBI verification notices to create fear and pressure the victim into transferring money from multiple bank accounts. The victim was allegedly forced to break fixed deposits under the false assurance that the money would be returned after verification.

Police arrested four accused from Andhra Pradesh — Shaik Rehna Begum, Alajangi Ravi, Mohammad Jaffar and Kolla Venkata Atchuta Rao — for allegedly opening and supplying bank accounts used to route the cheated funds. Cybercrime police also secured 514 refund orders in 64 cases, amounting to 1.59 crore for victims through court intervention.