A 68-year-old man was allegedly cheated of ₹23.5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who threatened him with digital arrest in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday (December 22, 2025). This is a second such incident reported in the district this week, an official said.
Based on a complaint, the Kalyan police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, Assistant Inspector Vinod Patil of Mahatma Phule police station said.
"The complainant alleged that two unidentified persons cheated him of ₹23.5 lakh by threatening to place him under digital arrest and forced him to transfer money through online transactions between December 8 and 12," Mr. Patil said.
'Digital arrest’ is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials or personnel of government agencies and intimidate victims through audio/video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay money.
‘Digital arrests’ are a very big challenge; victims, mostly elderly, lost ₹3,000 crore in India alone, says Supreme Court
