An elderly NRIdoctor couple was duped of nearly Rs 15 crore after becoming victims of a weeks-long “digital arrest” scam in Delhi. The online fraud got the better of the pair, as scammers on the other side of the phone spun a web of lies through fake calls and false claims of money laundering.
On Sunday, Delhi Police disclosed that a 77-year-old NRI woman, a resident of Greater Kailash-II was the latest victim of the now-disturbingly-common fraud scheme, as per ANI. Authorities have since revealed that the woman was targeted by scammers, who were posing as officials associated with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
NRI couple scammed in ‘digital arrest’ loses nearly Rs 15 crore
The victim, identified as Indira Taneja, has since opened up about her predicament to representatives of Indian media. Speaking to PTI, she detailed how a series of fake calls and video interactions with people impersonating telecom authorities and police officers resulted in a massive loss of Rs 14.85 crore.
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The unfortunate development spiralling into an unprecedented cyber crime is said to have begun a day before Christmas on December 24 noon.
Complaint filed with national cybercrime helpline
The NRI couple has since filed a formal complaint with the national cyber crime helpline. They will eventually be submitting a detailed account of the incident in the presence of Indira Taneja’s counsel, as per ANI.
VIDEO | Delhi: Cyber fraudsters duped an NRI elderly couple of Rs 14.85 crore in a “digital arrest” scam. The victims said they were trapped through a series of fake calls and video interactions by people posing as telecom officials and police officers, who accused them of money… pic.twitter.com/52a9veOBdn
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 11, 2026 Once the written complaint is received, the issue would be forwarded to the Cyber Crime Unit / IFSO for a proper investigation. The IFSO unit of Delhi Police has already registered an FIR related to the matter.
How the ‘digital arrest’ scam began?
The sophisticated cyber scamscheme involves fraudsters posing as law enforcement or government officials, as they threaten to arrest victims, freeze their accounts or initiate other legal action against them over fake claims of crimes they may have never committed.
In this instance of organised cybercrime as well, fraudsters ended up extorting crores of Indian Rupee by levelling hefty allegations of money laundering on Indira Taneja. The one-half of the NRI couple, currently staying in Delhi, told PTI on Sunday that she first received a call from someone claiming to be a TRAI official around noon on December 24, 2025.
The person on the other side of the call scared her by claiming that her phone number would be disconnected due to “obscene calls and complaints.” As the imposter went on to accuse her of money laundering, they said that an FIR and arrest warrants against her had already been issued in Maharashtra.
Taneja was then compelled to connect with a man in a police officer’s uniform on a video call. As per her account, the man’s name was Vikrant Singh Rajput.
This man in question told her that a Canara Bank account under her name had been used in a major fraud hampering national security. The digitally arrested victim opened up to the scammers about her husband’s recent surgery at AIIMS, and no one could help them. However, the scammers didn’t relent, and demanded that she come to Mumbai.
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He then offered another alternative, claiming that a process of verification would follow, ultimately resulting in her being released. As per Taneja’s account told to PTI, the people on the other end had even warned her not to share the details of the development with anyone.
During their interaction, Taneja’s driver ended up walking into the room. The man posing as a police officer instantly caught on, pushing her to stay quiet so as to not let even a hint slip about what was happening over the call. He warned that divulging anything to anyone could pose a big threat to them as well as the country.
On the other hand, her husband, Dr Om Taneja, told ANI that the fraudsters appeared to be well-informed about them. “They had a lot of information about us. They convinced us in such a way that, out of fear, we gave them all our information. There were three people involved in this,” he said. |
