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Hyderabad: A retired teacher from Mahabubabad, Telangana, lost Rs 82 lakh in a digital arrest scam, with fraudsters posing as police officers, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) personnel and telecom officials threatening the man and his wife with fake arrest warrants and criminal cases.

The teacher’s wife first received a call on April 11 from an individual claiming to be a telecom employee from Airtel. The caller warned the teacher that his mobile phone would be blocked since it had 17 harassment cases directly linked to his Aadhaar card. The couple was redirected to talk to a different fraudster via a WhatsApp video call. The person, dressed in a police uniform, introduced himself as a sub-inspector from Bengaluru.

He misled the couple, saying that a Canara Bank account in the teacher’s name had been opened in Mumbai, using the victim’s Aadhaar card information. Rs 75 allegedly linked to an international crime network had been deposited into that account, the “sub-inspector” told the couple.

The fraudsters furnished fake arrest warrants, placed the couple under “digital arrest,” and strictly warned them from disclosing the matter. They were routinely threatened by a man posing as a CBI official.

The victims transferred their total life savings, along with loan amounts and fixed deposits, into accounts designated by the accused. They transferred Rs 49 lakh on April 15, Rs 22.22 lakh on April 18, and Rs 11.22 lakh on April 22, through Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions to the scammers.

The fraudsters guaranteed returning the amount after “legal verification” by May 2. The couple, however, stopped receiving updates from the accused. The fraudsters switched off their phones and effectively stopped responding by May 3. The couple eventually filed a complaint at the Mahbubabad Town police station, after realising they had been duped.

A case has since been registered based on the complaint, and the police have initiated an investigation to trace the accused.