A Delhi woman allegedly lost ₹71 lakh after cyber fraudsters posing as Mumbai-based police officials threatened her with arrest over a fake money-laundering case, leading to the arrest of three people from Bhopal, police said. The arrests followed an investigation by the Delhi Police Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit.
The accused include two women and a man identified as Aman Soni, 28. Police said the suspects were allegedly part of an organised cybercrime network that supplied and operated mule bank accounts used to receive and move money obtained through fraud.
According to the police account, the victim received a video call from a person who claimed to be an IPS officer posted in Mumbai. The caller allegedly told her that a credit card issued in her name had been used for money laundering and that transactions worth around ₹6.5 crore were linked to it.
The fraudsters allegedly threatened the woman with arrest and judicial custody. They told her that she would have to transfer money for “verification” to avoid legal action. Under pressure, she transferred ₹71 lakh through two bank transactions, police said.
An e-FIR was registered at the Special Cell police station on 8 October. Investigators then followed the trail of the transferred funds and identified several bank accounts allegedly used to receive and move the money. This financial tracking helped the police reach the suspects in Bhopal, according to the report.
Police said around ₹15 lakh had been withdrawn and distributed among the accused and their associates. A portion of the allegedly defrauded money was also used to buy expensive mobile phones. Three recently purchased mobile phones were recovered from the suspects, police said.
The case highlights how digital arrest scams combine impersonation, fabricated criminal allegations and prolonged pressure over video calls. In such cases, callers falsely present themselves as police, investigating agencies or other authorities and demand money in the name of verification, security deposits or avoiding arrest. Legitimate law-enforcement agencies do not place people under arrest through video calls or demand payments to stop legal proceedings.
The Delhi Police investigation is continuing to identify other members of the alleged network, trace the remaining money and examine the accused persons’ wider financial links. Police have not yet disclosed how much of the ₹71 lakh has been recovered.
