A retired government doctor from Coimbatore was duped of ₹98 lakh after scammers posed as law enforcement officers and put her in ‘digital arrest’ for a few days.
Police sources said the scammers, who posed as CBI officers, contacted the 67-year-old doctor via WhatsApp.
They told her that fraudulent transactions had been detected in her bank account and she was asked to transact the money in her account to them for a verification process, assuring her a refund. The woman sent a total of ₹98 lakh to different accounts given by the fraudsters in multiple transactions, following which they cut all contacts with her.
Coimbatore city cybercrime police registered a case based on the doctor’s complaint and launched an investigation.
Cybercrime officers said that the station received over 6,500 complaints of online cheating and reported loss to the tune of ₹48 crore so far this year.
Government portal www.cybercrime.gov.in or 1930 toll free number can be used to report cyber financial fraud and freeze fraudulent transactions.
Published – August 18, 2026 12:36 am IST
