Overview
- The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau traced and froze Rs 85.20 lakh transferred by an 85‑year‑old in a ‘digital arrest’ scam, a transfer the bureau says began on August 21 and was handed to local cyber police for prosecution.
- Hyderabad Police’s Cyber Crime Wing has arrested three suspects and seized five mobile phones while warning of a new ‘hybrid cyber fraud’ that pairs shoulder‑surfing or phone theft with social engineering to unlock devices.
- Investigations show scammers keep victims on sustained WhatsApp or video calls posing as NIA, CBI, RBI or police officers to coerce repeated transfers and force victims to convert funds into cryptocurrency or move money to mule accounts.
- Police across states have filed FIRs, frozen suspect accounts, seized devices and traced laundering routes through crypto platforms, online gaming wallets and multi‑tier mule networks with at least one Delhi probe reporting cross‑border links to Bangladesh.
- Authorities urge immediate action by victims: never share screen‑lock PINs, OTPs or banking passwords, block SIMs and freeze bank/UPI services, register IMEI on CEIR and report fraud to helpline 1930 or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to improve chances of recovery.