Retired doctor dies of cardiac arrest after three days of 'digital arrest'

Hyderabad, Sep 17 (PTI) A 76-year-old retired government doctor died of cardiac arrest here after cyber fraudsters resorted to constant harassment and threats to her over a period of three days posing as law enforcement officials, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, who duped the woman of Rs 6.60 lakh during the ordeal between September 5 and 8, continued to send messages even after her death on September 8.

After going through her call records, the victim's son, in a complaint to police, said the family came to know of a possible case of "digital arrest" scam and organised cyber fraud that had directly led to her untimely death.

Digital arrest is a term used in cyber frauds where victims are falsely told they are under surveillance or legal custody through digital means. They are often isolated via continuous video or call surveillance by fraudsters posing as officials, and manipulated into following instructions without alerting others - often leading to extortion or fraud.

On September 5, the fraudsters contacted the woman, who retired as a chief senior resident medical officer, through an instant messaging app, displaying the Bangalore Police logo as the display picture, police said.

The caller shared a fabricated "investigation report" mentioning her Aadhaar details and falsely implicating her in a so-called human trafficking case, police said.

Over the next three days, the woman was repeatedly video-called and harassed by showing fabricated documents purportedly from the Supreme Court, Karnataka Police Department, ED and RBI, threatening her with prosecution under the NSA and made her transfer Rs 6.6 lakh from bank's pension account into their (fraudsters) account.

After the transfer, she was forced to share the transaction slip, and further fabricated notices/orders were sent to her, and she was continuously harassed.

The complainant said due to the continuous mental agony, threats, and extortion by the accused, his mother complained of severe chest pain on September 8 morning and was taken to a hospital where she succumbed to a massive cardiac arrest.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered under relevant sections of the IT Act and BNS, a police official said, adding further investigation is on.

Hyderabad Police, in an advisory, urged the public not to fall prey to online frauds saying "Police or any law enforcement agency will never call you to inform you that you are arrested. There is no such thing as "digital arrest." "Cybercriminals are posing as officials from the CBI, Police Department, or government agencies and may share fake documents like CBI warrants, FIRs, or even forged Supreme Court orders to create fear and gain your trust. Do not share your bank account details, OTP, or personal information over phone calls," the public advisory said. PTI VVK VVK KH