Hyderabad, Aug. 30 -- In another appalling case of cybercrime, an 82-year-old Banjara Hills resident was cheated out of Rs 72 lakh by scammers who claimed to be officials from the Mumbai Crime Branch. The gang allegedly put them under a "digital arrest" for ten days, mentally terrorizing them till they remitted the money, reported Eenadu.

The 'digital arrest' trap

As per the complaint lodged with the Narayanaguda cybercrime police, the victim got a WhatsApp video call on August 11. In the call, a person wearing a police uniform identified himself as a Crime Branch official and blamed the victim for their involvement in a money laundering case.

The caller stated that an account was being opened with the Aadhaar card of the victim and th...