Amresh Parab
Panaji
In what could be a cause for concern, cyber criminals have struck yet again, duping five senior Goan citizens, including two women, to the tune of over Rs 3.17 crore.
One of the cases pertains to an investment scam whereas in two cases, the cyber criminals threatened senior citizens with money laundering cases. Senior citizens were placed under digital arrest in two separate cases.
Cyber crime police in Ribandar have recently registered five First Information Reports (FIRs) and are further investigating the cases.
Police said that a 73-year-old retired employee from Tiswadi lost Rs 90,85,000 to a digital arrest scam and a fake money laundering case. The complainant told police that unknown accused persons contacted him through WhatsApp calls and impersonated as officers of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Mumbai.
Police said that the accused falsely informed the complainant that he had misused personal information and further threatened him by alleging his involvement in an ongoing money laundering case linked to an Indian businessman. The accused also alleged that the complainant had received commission.
“The accused unlawfully subjected the complainant to a so-called ‘digital arrest’ and coerced him into settling the alleged case through transfer of a total sum of Rs 90,85,000,” said police officials.
In another case, a 72-year-old retired employee from Margao lost Rs 87,85,000 to an investment scam. Referring to the complaint, police said that unknown accused persons contacted the complainant by way of WhatsApp and impersonated as representatives of ‘India Nivesh’. Further, a woman identified herself as ‘Divya Mehra’ and fraudulently induced the complainant to invest in IPO (initial public offering) allotments, OTC (over the counter) and equity trading schemes on the pretext of assured high returns.
Police said that the complainant was induced to transfer a total amount of Rs 87,85,000 from his bank account to multiple beneficiary accounts between November 23, 2025, to December 10, 2025. However, with neither any sign of the returns nor the invested amount, the complainant realised that he was cheated.
In a separate case of fake money laundering, a 72-year-old housewife from Mormugao in South Goa lost Rs 64,00,000, police said. The unknown accused contacted the complainant through WhatsApp, impersonated as an officer of CBI, Mumbai, and told the complainant that an arrest warrant was issued against her in a money laundering case.
The accused threatened the complainant stating that she was placed under surveillance over video call and further coerced her into settling the alleged case by transfer of Rs 64,00,000 through two different RTGS transactions.
In a digital arrest fraud, a 68-year-old retired employee from Vasco lost Rs 60 lakh. Unknown accused persons impersonated as officials from CBI Mumbai and a magistrate, and told the complainant that his personal details were involved in a money laundering case linked to an Indian businessman.
The accused threatened the complainant by stating that he was placed under surveillance over video call and further coerced the complainant into settling the case through a transfer of Rs 60,00,000.
In another case of digital arrest, a 75-year-old woman from Tiswadi lost Rs 14,67,000. The unknown accused persons contacted the complainant through WhatsApp calls and impersonated as officers from TRAI and the Supreme Court of India.
The accused persons threatened the complainant by alleging her involvement in a case wherein an individual had fraudulently used her Aadhaar card to obtain a SIM card, which, they said, was misused for sending unauthorised advertisements and harassing text messages to the public.
The accused subsequently subjected the complainant to the so-called ‘digital arrest’ and coerced her into settling the alleged case by transfer of Rs 14,67,000.
