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Cyber fraudsters cite terror links to target senior citizens

BHOPAL: Senior citizens in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are facing a new and highly unsettling cyber-fraud tactic, with criminals impersonating anti-terror investigators, placing victims under a so-called digital arrest, and extorting huge sums by falsely accusing them of involvement in terror funding. In Bhopal, the fear triggered by such calls has already claimed a life. Sixty-eight-year-old advocate Shiv Kumar Verma recently died by suicide at his home. A suicide note, purportedly penned by him, revealed the possibility of him being targeted by cyber fraudsters by threatening stringent action against him for funding the April 22 Pahalgam attack. According to investigators, the note and subsequent probe by Jahangirabad police suggested that fraudsters, possibly posing as anti-terror sleuths, had told him that his HDFC Bank account was being used for terror funding. With no one else at home and terrified of being labelled anti-national, Verma hanged himself. Police say it is the first suicide in Bhopal linked to digital arrest. At least five to seven similar incidents have surfaced in the city involving the elderly over the past 10 days. In Bhopals Kohfiza area, another elderly advocate received calls from men posing as anti-terror cops, but unlike Verma, he realised in time that the callers were fraudsters trying to con him. Others, however, were not so fortunate. A retired bank manager lost `68 lakhhis entire savingsafter being kept under digital arrest by callers who claimed to be investigating terror-related offences. A retired government servant lost around `8 lakh, and an elderly housewife has also reported being targeted in a similar manner. A cyber cell officer confirmed the modus operandi. Earlier, such fraudsters posing as cops or sleuths of investigation agencies extorted money from elderlies by triggering fear of their details having been used for money laundering, narcotics smuggling and human trafficking. But with sustained education and awareness about the menace of digital arrest, the cyber thugs novel modus operandi is creating fear of involvement in terror-related, particularly terror funding cases. Rajasthan has also reported similar incidents. In two to three cases in Jaipur and Udaipur, fraudsters have targeted the elderly by linking them to the Delhi blast case, said Shantanu Singh, SP (State CybercrimeJaipur). In Indore, police say the targeting is systematic. Additional DCP (Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya said, These gangs work in multi layers, one of those layers comprises men and women, who scan the social media activity of senior citizens. The fraudsters zero in on the victims and put them under a digital arrest.

29 Nov 2025 8:27 am