Mother-son duo in NCR turn digital arrest scammers; retired engineer duped of Rs 1.4 crore

The fraudsters, posing as FedEx courier staff and officers from Mumbai Police's cyber crime division, falsely claimed that his Aadhaar card details had been compromised and were linked to money laundering activities.

The Odisha Crime Branch on Sunday arrested a mother-son duo from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly duping a senior citizen in a ₹1.37 crore digital fraud case.

The accused, identified as Anita Malhotra and her son Anurag, were taken into custody following an extensive investigation.

The victim, a retired engineer from the Public Works Department residing in Bhubaneswar, fell victim to a 'digital arrest' scam.

The investigation into the case was initiated in May, leading to the collection of substantial evidence. On Thursday, a team led by Inspector Anila Anand arrested the accused, Neelam Aggarwal (52) and her son Vansh Aggarwal (26). They were transported to Odisha the following day.

According to the victim's complaint, he was contacted by the scammers on May 22 using various phone numbers. The fraudsters, posing as FedEx courier staff and officers from Mumbai Police's cyber crime division, falsely claimed that his Aadhaar card details had been compromised and were linked to money laundering activities. They threatened the elderly man with a potential prison sentence of three to seven years unless he acted quickly.

Under duress, the victim transferred his life savings, totaling Rs 1,37,90,000, from both his and his wife's accounts at the State Bank of India in five transactions between May 14 and 18. The investigation revealed that the funds were deposited into three separate bank accounts, with Rs 1.12 crore going to an account linked to Vanshneel Software Private Limited, owned by Neelam and Vansh.

Further inquiries indicated that the mother-son duo had opened approximately 13 different bank accounts across various branches of Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, to facilitate their fraudulent activities. Both individuals had previously been arrested by the Mandir Marg Cyber police station in New Delhi for their involvement in a similar scam that defrauded victims of Rs 63 lakh.

Additionally, reports indicate that Neelam and Vansh are implicated in more than 15 cases of cyber fraud across multiple states in India.