86-year-old woman held under digital arrest for 2 months, loses ₹20 crore: How the fraud unfolded

In a recent case of cyber fraud related to Aadhar card, scammers duped an 86-year-old woman from Mumbai by posing as police officials and convinced her that her Aadhar card was being misused indulging in various illegal activities, reported the Free Press Journal.

Not only this, the scammers put her in a fake 'digital arrest' for two months and duped the dupe woman of ₹20.25 crore.

How the fraud unfolded?

The woman got a call from an individual, pretending to be a police officer, who informed her that her Aadhar card information and other personal information had been used to create a new bank account.

Adding more, the scammer also told the woman that her account was involved in several unlawful activities, including money laundering.

Following this, the scammers threatened the woman of legal action targeting her and her family, including her daughter, stating that the only way to settle the case was for her to transfer all her money to different bank accounts to clear her name from the case.

Then she was directed to stay in a state of 'digital arrest' and refrain from telling about what was happening to anyone.

Recognising the fraud, the woman informed the police, who quickly initiated a probe. Meanwhile, the police have arrested the fraudsters and the inquiry is still in progress.

Two arrested:

The police stated, as quoted by FPJ, that they have arrested two individuals named Shayan Jamil Sheikh, a resident of Malad (West), and Rajik Azam Butt, who lives in Mira Road (East) both 20 years old.

The police allege Butt may be part of a bigger international scam, since he mentioned he formed a group of 13 foreign individuals on the messaging platform Telegram to enable further fraudulent schemes.

The police added that the fraud of ₹20.25 crore occurred between 26 December, 2024, and 3 March, 2025. The old woman was contacted by the end of last year.