Hyderabad resident duped of Rs 1.07 crore in digital arrest fraud; gang busted, one held

Hyderabad: The Cyber Crime Police, Hyderabad City, have arrested a person for his alleged involvement in a ‘digital arrest’ fraud amounting to Rs 1.07 crore.

The accused has been identified as Gurdeep Singh alias Lucky Narang alias Lucky (42), a resident of New Delhi.

Case details

The fraud came to light on October 16, 2025, when a resident of the city lodged a complaint.

The victim said that he received a call from an unknown person, claiming to be from the Mumbai crime branch police. The alleged police officer said that the victim’s phone number and Aadhaar card were involved in illegal activities.

The victim was connected to another person, who introduced himself as an investigation officer. Later, the victim was manipulated into depositing Rs 1,07,00,000 under the guise of a money laundering investigation, with threats of arrest and career damage.

Gang collected bank data

The police said that Gurdeep Singh was running a money exchange and travel business. He, along with his associate Prashant Kumar, Deepak Kumar and four others, formed a gang that collected current bank accounts and bank credentials and used them in cyber frauds.

They used to call the bank account holders to hotels in Delhi, Jaipur and other cities by offering commission amounts and provided them accommodation, while operating cyber frauds. They would receive money transfers from victims and simultaneously transfer the funds to the kingpin of the cyber fraud.

Gurdeep Singh was a mule account supplier to next level scammer. In this case, the previous account holder, Deepak, and the account supplier, Prashant Kumar, were arrested in New Delhi and sent to judicial custody.

Modus operandi

1. The victim receives a call from fraudsters in the guise of law enforcement and judicial bodies like CBI, Customs and Mumbai crime branch officials.

2. Once the victim responds, they are connected to a series of fake officials, like a person posing as a DCP, CBI officer,

3. The impersonators create a false narrative that the victim is involved in a money laundering case, Narcotics, Terrorism and others, increasing the psychological pressure

4. The fraudsters threaten the victim with non-bailable arrest warrants, severe punishment and damage to family reputation

5. The fraudster demand for Asset Liquidation and they claim the money is being ‘submitted to the Supreme Court’ as proof of innocence.

6. The victim is instructed not to use or access their bank accounts without the fraudster's permission and to report every hour via video call.

7. Their objective is to exploit fear, urgency and impersonate law enforcement agencies and judicial bodies to gain control over the victim, coerce the victim into sending large sums of money, and extract personal data that may be used for further fraud

Public advisory

To protect yourself from cybercrime and financial fraud:

- Beware of impersonation and fake legal threat scams.

- Do not trust unknown callers claiming to be from the police, CBI, court or TRAI.

- Never share OTPs, Aadhaar, bank account details or personal information over the phone.

- Do not transfer any money under threats or promises of clearing your name from cases.

- No government agency will ever demand money over a phone call or instruct you to break your FDs, gold, or take loans.

- Verify official claims independently. Contact your bank, local police station or official agency helplines directly.

If you are a victim of cybercrime fraud:

- Never give bank account credentials to others; you will be liable for legal actions.

- Immediately dial 1930 (or)

Visit @https://cybercrime.gov.in/for assistance