In a major breakthrough, the city’s cyber crime police cell, in a joint operation with the Chennai police, nabbed two people who were wanted in a ‘digital arrest’ case.

The Cyber ​​Crime Police Cell had received information from the Chennai Police that a resident of Chennai had been cheated ₹1 crore through the ‘digital arrest’ scam. During the investigation, the Chennai police established the connection of the accused with Chandigarh.

They provided the UT police with an account number at UCO Bank, Chandigarh, used to make the fraudulent transactions and subsequent withdrawals.

After verification, the Cyber ​​cell police station provided all necessary technical assistance to trace the accused, who were later apprehended and handed over to the Chennai police.

The duo has been identified as Pradeep Singh, a native of Rajasthan, and Yashdeep Singh, a resident of Mohali, both aged 24.

According to the police, they were involved in opening and arranging several mule bank accounts, which were further handed over to other criminals on a commission basis for congratulating fraudulent money transactions.

A digital arrest scam involves scammers posing as government officials, especially from law enforcement departments. They contact their victims through phone calls and later switch to video via WhatsApp and Skype.

The callers claim to be either police personnel or officials from the customs department and the CBI. After the scammers switch to video, victims are generally shown a police station-like setup to make them believe the call is being made by the police.

This scam leads to significant financial losses as victims are forced to transfer large sums of money. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has alerted citizens about the issue.