Overview
- The couple, residents of Greater Kailash, were held on phone and video calls from December 24 to January 9–10 before realising the fraud when the calls stopped and they approached a police station.
- Scammers posed as TRAI officials and Mumbai police, cited money‑laundering and national‑security allegations, and coached the victim on what to tell bank staff during high‑value transfers.
- About eight RTGS payments of roughly ₹2–₹2.1 crore each were made to multiple accounts, totaling ₹14.85 crore, with a fake Reserve Bank of India refund used as a final pretext.
- An e‑FIR has been registered in Delhi and the probe has been handed to the Special Cell’s IFSO unit, which is tracing the money trail as police reiterate that no agency conducts digital arrests; the 1930 cyber helpline was contacted.
- Police report similar cases in Chandigarh and Pune, where senior citizens lost ₹38 lakh and ₹34.8 lakh respectively, with local cyber units registering FIRs and working to freeze suspect accounts.