IIT Student Falls Victim to ₹7.29 Lakh Cyber Scam

 A student from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay fell prey to a sophisticated cyber scam called "digital arrest," losing ₹7.29 lakh to fraudsters posing as officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The incident, which took place in July, was reported to the Powai police on Tuesday.

According to authorities, the 25-year-old student received a distressing call from an unknown number. The caller, impersonating a TRAI representative, claimed there were 17 complaints filed against the student's mobile number, accusing it of being involved in illegal activities. The scammer warned that the number would be deactivated unless the student obtained a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the police. To escalate the deception, the caller transferred the conversation to someone posing as a “Cyber Crime Branch” officer.

"The caller informed the victim that his mobile number was linked to illegal activities and that immediate action was required," a Powai police official said. To add credibility, the victim was later contacted via a WhatsApp video call by a person dressed in what seemed to be a police uniform. This individual accused the student of money laundering and demanded his Aadhaar details. Intimidated, the student was coerced into paying ₹29,500 through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to avoid arrest.

The ordeal didn’t end there. The scammer intensified the pressure by introducing the term "digital arrest," claiming the student was under online detention and barred from contacting anyone. The next day, the fraudster demanded a larger sum, leading the victim to share his bank account details. Using this information, the criminals extracted an additional ₹7 lakh. Only after receiving the money did the scammers falsely reassure the victim that his “arrest” had been revoked.

How the fraud was uncovered

The student eventually became suspicious and conducted an online search about "digital arrest," which revealed the scam. Realizing he had been duped, he approached the Powai police, who have since launched an investigation.

Police are working to trace the culprits and have issued warnings to the public about such scams, which are on the rise in the digital era. They urge individuals to verify any alarming claims and avoid sharing sensitive personal or financial information over the phone.