Two arrested in multi-state ‘digital arrest’ fraud

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police have arrested two individuals in connection with a major digital arrest cyber fraud case involving the swindling of a retired senior citizen of Rs 59 lakh. The accused are allegedly part of a syndicate involved in 65 cyber fraud cases nationwide, spanning states, including Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Surampudi Chandrasekhar (31) and Emandi Venkat Naveen (25), both residents of Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. Acting as “account suppliers” for the racket, the pair were involved in transactions totalling Rs 8 crore across various cases. During the arrest, authorities seized five mobile phones, four chequebooks, ten debit cards, and three PAN cards.

The fraud began on 4 December when the victim received WhatsApp calls from individuals impersonating police and government officials.

The fraudsters falsely alleged the victim’s involvement in human trafficking, overseas job fraud, and money laundering. To heighten the intimidation, they sent forged arrest warrants via WhatsApp. Under the weight of these continuous threats, the victim was coerced into transferring Rs 59,00,300 through RTGS from a Union Bank of India account between 4 and 6 December.

DCP Cyber Crime V Arvind Babu explained that the syndicate operated a highly organised scam designed to exploit fear. The criminals used malicious APK files to gain unauthorised access to the victims’ internet banking and SMS services. Once the funds were stolen, they were routed through 15 current accounts belonging to shell firms. The money was then converted into cryptocurrency (USDT) and eventually withdrawn into personal accounts via Binance P2P transactions.

“The role of the accused involved procuring and sharing bank accounts to route cheated funds. They received proceeds in cryptocurrency, which were later converted to INR, effectively assisting the prime accused by providing both financial accounts and technical access,” stated Arvind Babu.

While the two account suppliers have been remanded to judicial custody, the DCP confirmed that the primary suspects remain absconding and further investigations are in progress to dismantle the rest of the interstate racket.