2nd major fraud in just 1 week of new yr | Lucknow News
Lucknow: The city reported its second major ‘digital arrest’ case of the year, with a 68-year-old retired banker allegedly being swindled out of his life savings of Rs 2.75 crore after being kept under virtual confinement for nearly a month. A case was registered on Thursday at Vikasnagar police station and the cybercrime cell.The victim, Siddharth Nath, a resident of Vikasnagar, stated in his complaint that his ordeal began on Aug 30, 2025, when he received a phone call from fraudsters posing as officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The callers falsely claimed that a SIM card registered in his name in Mumbai was being used for money laundering and other illegal activities. The call was subsequently transferred to accomplices impersonating law enforcement officers, who told Nath that he was a prime accused in a money laundering case. The scammers placed him under what they termed “digital arrest”.The accused shared forged court orders and arrest warrants, claiming that Nath was on a 7-day remand that kept getting extended. Between Sep 2 and Sep 22, the fraudsters coerced Nath into liquidating his fixed deposits, mutual funds and shares on the pretext of “verifying the legality” of his money. A total of Rs2.75 crore was transferred from his bank accounts to multiple fraudulent accounts across states. The fraud came to light on Sep 24 when the accused demanded an additional Rs50 lakh as “bail charges”. When Nath expressed his inability to arrange more funds, all communication was abruptly cut off.Nath has also lodged a complaint on the national cybercrime reporting portal.Police confirmed that an investigation is underway, with the cyber cell tracking UTR numbers and money trails. “This appears to be the work of an organised inter-state cybercrime syndicate,” a police officer said.
