Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 24 : The District Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (D4C), Kothagudem District, of Telangana Cyber Security Bureau successfully foiled a major digital arrest extortion attempt and rescued an elderly family from three days of severe harassment by cyber fraudsters posing as CBI officers, according to police.
The victims in this case were Buddharaju Subbaraju (80), MBBS, who ran Neela Nursing Home in Bhadrachalam, his daughter-in-law, and his minor granddaughter.
On November 20, Dr. Subbaraju received WhatsApp video calls from offenders impersonating as CBI officials. They falsely claimed that a bank account opened with his Aadhaar in Mumbai was linked to over 100 criminal cases being investigated by CBl.
According to the police, the fraudsters, to terrorise the family, instructed them not to inform anyone, claiming they were "under CBI surveillance." They forced them to maintain hourly video-call contact. They collected complete bank information from the victims, including details of amounts available in their bank accounts and fixed deposits, etc. They coerced them to prematurely break the FD and prepare to transfer funds to them.
When the family stopped responding and failed to attend the hospital, their assistant grew suspicious. Upon persistent questioning, the victims disclosed the ongoing coercion. The assistant informed D4C Kothagudem Deputy SP Ashok Babu over phone on November 23 (Sunday) night. Immediately in the night itself, Deputy SP Ashok Babu and Inspector Jitender reached the residence of Dr.Subbaraju and cut off communication with the fraudsters.
Their prompt and timely intervention prevented a major financial loss and ended the family's psychological distress, police said.
The Cyber Crime Police have initiated a detailed technical probe. Tracing of the fraudsters' lP addresses, Analysis of call-routing paths, Examination of device identifiers, and coordination with service providers and national cybercrime platforms are currently in progress to identify the originators and disrupt the network involved.
Further investigation is underway.