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A Noida-based doctor lost Rs 59 lakh in 48 hours after she was duped by fraudsters in a 'digital heist'. This trick is increasingly being used to deceive people in the region of Delhi-NCR. Dr. Puja Goyal, a resident of Noida Sector 77, received a call on July 13. The caller identified himself as an employee of the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India and told Goyal that her phone was being used to broadcast pornographic videos. The doctor refused, but the caller convinced her to join the video call. The woman was threatened with serious consequences and told that she had been digitally recorded. Forty-eight hours after the incident, Goyal transferred Rs 59 lakhs and Rs 54 thousand to a particular account. Realizing that she had been cheated, she lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime Cell of Sector 36, Noida on Monday, July 22nd. Additional Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Vivek Ranjan Rai said he has the details of the account that Mrs. Goyal sent the money to. “They will be investigated and necessary action will be taken.”

Digital arrest scams are increasingly becoming a popular tactic for fraudsters to intimidate and trick people. In these cases, the scammer locks the target in a house, sometimes a room, and poses as a police officer. A fake ID is passed around to trick the target into thinking they are a real police officer. Earlier, a 72-year-old woman living in Delhi's posh Chitranjan Park area was tricked into transferring Rs 83 lakh. Like Dr. Pooja Goyal was also told by Krishna Dasgupta that her cell phone was used for criminal activities and burned in fire for more than 12 hours. The Noida Police recently issued an alert against such scams. In the last few months, around 10 such cases have been reported, an FIR has been registered and investigations are underway, the adviser said. Police stressed the importance of investigating suspicious calls, especially those made via WhatsApp or video calls, and recommended verifying the identity of callers through official channels. “If citizens receive a call that suspects legal action or requests personal or financial information, they should immediately report it to the nearest police station or cyber cell phone,” the notice said.