Not even former Home Minister is safe from online scam; Thiruvanchoor escapes 'virtual arrest'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Many people in the country lose money by falling victim to virtual arrest scams. However, the fraudsters' deceit was exposed in the first minute in front of former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.

Yesterday afternoon, fraudsters posing as Mumbai Police contacted Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan MLA. Thiruvanchoor, who is also a former home minister, received a video call on WhatsApp around 1:30 pm on Wednesday. The group claimed that a financial fraud was committed using a phone number taken with Thiruvanchoor's Aadhaar card. They also informed that the Mumbai Police had registered a case.

Thiruvanchoor hung up the first call. The fraudsters made a second video call on WhatsApp and informed him that they were arresting him. Realizing the fraud, Thiruvanchoor replied that they should contact the Kerala Police and she would show them the documents there and hung up. An investigation has been launched focusing on the two numbers used by the fraudsters. The fraudsters spoke in Hindi and English.

I was having food at the MLA hostel when I received a video call on WhatsApp. The caller said that I had committed fraud through the phone number I had obtained from Mumbai using Aadhaar. That's when I realised it was a scam. The conversation was in Hindi mixed with English. They said that an FIR had been registered. When asked for the FIR number, he gave me a number that was not related to any FIRs. The complaint was filed to prevent anyone from being scammed. - Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan MLA