YouTuber Ankush Bahuguna posted a video on social media and informed that he was digitally arrested by scammers for 40 hours. Ankush said in this video – I am still in Sadma. I lost my peace of mind along with money. I can't believe this has happened to me. I am posting this video to prevent this from happening to others.
Ankush said- Many of you know about it but not many know the lengths scammers can go to control you. Many times you can spot a scam within seconds but if you are like me you can fall into a trap. Ankush Bahuguna has 745K i.e. 7.45 lakh subscribers on YouTube. They make comedy and makeup tips videos.
Ankush Bahuguna has 745K i.e. 7.45 lakh subscribers on YouTube. They make comedy and makeup tips videos.
Understand the whole matter in detail…
The scammers were in police uniform, being questioned by the names of criminals Ankush said- When I came back from the gym I got a call from a very strange number. It looked like an international number. I picked up the phone without much thought. It was an automated call, an automated call saying my courier's delivery was cancelled. Press zero for help. I didn't kurian anything to anyone even though I pressed zero. From there the customer care replied that illegal items were found in your package.
The package you were sending to China has been seized by customs. I was scared, I said I didn't send anything. He said that my name, my aadhaar number, everything is written on the packet. This is a serious case. There is already a warrant in your name, you are 'digitally arrested'.
After this, I don't know how the voice call changed to WhatsApp video call. In the video call, the scammers were seen in police uniform. They said that you have serial cases like money laundering, drug trafficking etc. in your name. I began my inquiry by naming some of the culprits.
Calls continued for 40 hours continuously, no one could be contacted Ankush said- I was very scared of all this. I knew I didn't do anything wrong but scammers create a situation where you can't think of anything. After this, I was in digital arrest for the next 40 hours. I could not disconnect the call or contact anyone.
After a long time they asked me to go to the bank and transfer money to some account but by the time I reached the bank was closed. After this they asked me to stay in a hotel instead of going home. During this time my friends were calling and texting me, but I was telling everyone that I was fine.
Even after the call is disconnected it seems that no one is following up Ankush said that he fell asleep after reaching the hotel. After some time I suddenly woke up and saw a message from a friend on my phone that it looks like you are under house arrest, if there is such a thing it is a scam. When the scammers found out about this, they started questioning me, but I was already suspicious.
I told them that I don't feel safe here, I want to come to the police station. On that they said we have people under the hotel to protect you. Hearing this I was more frightened.
Then I gathered courage and disconnected the call and came out of the hotel. Called my friend and told everything. Even after sitting in the auto, I was afraid that someone was following me. After this I have filed a police complaint.
₹4.69 lakh crore loss due to digital fraud in 10 years The report of the Reserve Bank has revealed that during 2023 there was a fraud of more than 30 thousand crore rupees in the country. Tactics such as creating fake police stations, government offices and wearing police uniforms are also adopted during house arrest.
Indian banks have reported 65,017 fraud cases in the last decade. Due to which a total loss of 4.69 lakh crore rupees has been incurred. Cybercriminals use various methods to defraud the unsuspecting including UPI, credit card, OTP, job and delivery scams.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
