Senior citizens aged over 70 were targeted in eight of the top 10 “digital arrest” cases reported in Chandigarh during 2024 and 2025, according to the figures released by the Union territory police on Saturday. While eight of the victims were aged between 71 and 89, those in the two remaining cases were 57 and 53 years old.
Officers said elderly citizens are particularly vulnerable to such digital scams as they are more likely to trust communication that appears to sound official. According to the police, fraudsters typically impersonate officers from the police, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), or even court officials, falsely accusing victims of criminal involvement. The victims are then kept under continuous video or audio surveillance and coerced into transferring large sums of money.
Fake courtroom, constant monitoring
In a recent case of digital arrest fraud in Chandigarh that surfaced in November this year and which The Indian Express reported earlier this month, a 73-year-old resident of Sector 45 was allegedly coerced into transferring Rs 52 lakh after cybercriminals threatened him with arrest in a fictitious case purportedly registered at Colaba police station in Mumbai. The scammers even showed the victim – retired private sector employee Shashi Kumar Sahai – a fake courtroom over a video call and told him that he would be kept under constant watch because he was a senior citizen.
The fraud surfaced when Sahai’s son, Saurabh, learned that his father had been kept under constant video watch by unknown callers.
In another such case, an elderly Chandigarh couple was cheated of Rs 85 lakh after callers convinced them that they were suspects in a money-laundering case and that only certain “officials” could help them secure a “Priority Innocence Verification Certificate” to prevent arrest. The First Information Report (FIR), filed at the cyber police station in Chandigarh’s Sector 17 on December 9, reveals a meticulously staged month-long deception that mimicked the style and structure of an actual government probe.
Forged documents, multiple impersonators
A Venkatesh, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Cyber Crime Cell, Chandigarh, said the incident showed how “digital arrest” scams have become far more sophisticated. “The criminals no longer rely on one phone call. They now build an entire parallel investigation, complete with forged documents, multiple impersonators and continuous psychological pressure,” he added.
In early October, the 75-year-old couple received a call from a man who identified himself as a TRAI official. He claimed that their Aadhaar details had been misused to open a bank account involved in money laundering. The call was quickly transferred to two others posing as senior vigilance and financial intelligence officers, who spoke in authoritative bureaucratic language.
Earlier this year, a retired Indian Army officer and his wife were duped of Rs 3.4 crore by fraudsters who posed as personnel of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
In this case, Colonel (retired) Dalip Singh, 82, and his wife Ranvinder Kaur, 74, residents of Sector 2A, Chandigarh, lost Rs 3.4 crore to the fraudsters who posed as ED personnel.
80 Years——————–Rs 3.45 crore————————-Rs 53.9 lakh 82 years———————Rs 3.41 crore——————–Rs 10.13 crore
71 years———————Rs 2.5 crore————————Rs 5.98 lakh 71 years————————Rs 1.01 lakh——————Rs 38.77 lakh
81 years——————Rs 95 lakh—————————Rs 5.28 lakh 78 years——————–Rs 80 lakh ———————–Rs 20.74 lakh
89 years———————–Rs 77.42 lakh——————Rs 20.25 lakh 53 years——————-Rs 57.16 lakh———————-Rs 3.58 lakh
57 years——————Rs 51 lakh——————————-Rs 3,405
· Verify the identity of callers claiming to be officials before sharing any information.
· Use strong passwords and enable two-factor authentication on banking and email accounts.
· Immediately report cyber fraud to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in to improve chances of fund
· Regularly monitor bank statements and transaction alerts.
· Do not share OTPs, PINs, CVV numbers, or login credentials with anyone.
· Do not click on unknown links or download unverified applications.
· Do not act under panic or fear created by threatening calls or messages.
· Do not scan QR codes or approve unknown payment requests.