A 62-year-old retired LIC officer from Pune lost nearly ₹99 lakh after falling victim to a sophisticated “digital arrest” scam in which cybercriminals forged the signature of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on a fake arrest warrant to extort money. The case underscores a growing wave of cyber fraud exploiting citizens’ trust in government agencies and officials.
According to the Pune City Cyber Police, the fraud began in late October when the woman, who lives in Kothrud, received a call from a man claiming to represent a “Data Protection Agency.” He alleged that her Aadhaar-linked mobile number had been used in suspicious financial activities and connected her to another caller posing as a senior police officer named George Mathew.
During a video call, the impersonator accused her of involvement in money laundering and warned that her bank accounts would be frozen. To make the threat appear genuine, the scammers sent her a forged arrest warrant that carried a fake signature of Finance Minister Sitharaman and an imitation government seal.
The criminals then told the victim that, due to her age, she would be placed under “digital arrest” — meaning she would be monitored remotely — and instructed her to transfer her savings into “Reserve Bank of India verification accounts” for investigation purposes. Convinced by the official-looking documents and intimidating threats, she transferred ₹99 lakh across multiple accounts later traced to a cybercrime network operating out of Thane.
To maintain credibility, the fraudsters also sent her fake receipts purportedly issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), assuring her that the funds would be returned once cleared. When she later tried to contact the alleged officers, the numbers were switched off. Realising she had been duped, she filed a complaint with the Pune City Cyber Police.
Investigators have begun tracking the bank accounts, call records, and digital trail linked to the scam. Officials said that such frauds increasingly involve the misuse of names and seals of genuine institutions, including the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), to gain victims’ trust.
A senior Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber) described the case as a disturbing escalation in cybercrime tactics. “These scams exploit the credibility of government offices and public fear of law enforcement. Citizens should never act on calls or messages claiming to be from government agencies without verifying them through official websites or local authorities,” the officer said.
Police have urged the public to remain alert against digital arrest scams, stressing that no legitimate authority ever demands money transfers for verification or investigation.
