Pune Retired Defence Official Loses Rs 1 Crore in Digital Arrest Scam
Kondhwa, 11th September 2025: An 83-year-old retired defence officer from Kondhwa fell victim to a sophisticated digital arrest scam, losing Rs 1 crore between July 22 and August 19. The case is the latest in a series of cyber frauds targeting senior citizens.
According to officials, the scammers impersonated CBI officers and claimed they had discovered the retired official’s financial links with a businessman accused in a Rs 400-crore money laundering case. The fraudsters reportedly kept the victim under “digital surveillance” for nearly a month.
A Pune cyber police officer said, “The complainant had retired from a defence department unit in Pune and lives in Kondhwa with his wife. On July 22, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be a CBI officer and informed him that his Aadhaar card was found among 247 others during a search linked to the money laundering case. The victim was told he was involved and was instructed to speak with a senior central agency officer.”
The cyber officer added, “The impostor took the retired official’s bank account details and balances, threatening arrest if he did not comply. The victim was instructed not to contact relatives while the investigation was ongoing. Between July 22 and 28, the crooks shared fabricated documents and then provided bank account numbers, asking the victim to transfer funds, promising to return the money within three days.”
Over the next three weeks, the terrified pensioner transferred a total of Rs 1 crore from five different bank accounts. When the promised refund did not arrive, he attempted to contact the original caller but received no response, realizing he had been scammed. He then lodged a complaint with the cyber police.
The money had been transferred to accounts across India, including Ghaziabad (UP), Ahmedabad and Bhuj (Gujarat), Chandigarh (Punjab), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Nagaon (Assam), and Hyderabad (Telangana). “We have formally requested transaction details from all these banks to trace the funds,” the officer said.
