India, Aug. 1 -- A 90-year-old Nerul resident realised he and his wife had fallen victim to a months-long "digital arrest" scam only after reading newspaper reports on similar cyber frauds. By then, the couple had already liquidated their fixed deposits and recurring deposits and transferred their lifetime savings of Rs.1.57 crore to frauds posing as officials of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Mumbai Police.

The Navi Mumbai Cyber police have registered an FIR against unidentified cybercriminals under section 318 (cheating), section 308 (extortion), and section 204 (impersonating a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

According to the complaint, the elderly couple wa...