Thane | A 68-year-old man was allegedly cheated of Rs 23.5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who threatened him with digital arrest in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday.

This is a second such incident reported in the district this week, an official said.

Based on a complaint, the Kalyan police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, Assistant Inspector Vinod Patil of Mahatma Phule police station said.

"The complainant alleged that two unidentified persons cheated him of Rs 23.5 lakh by threatening to place him under digital arrest and forced him to transfer money through online transactions between December 8 and 12," Patil said.

'Digital arrest' is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials or personnel of government agencies and intimidate victims through audio/video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay money.

He said that the accused allegedly contacted the victim on WhatsApp video calls and claimed that his bank transactions were suspicious and linked to alleged irregularities.

"The fraudsters told him that he could be placed under digital arrest, but assured him that they would help him avoid legal action if he cooperated," the officer said.

He said that the accused repeatedly threatened the senior citizen and put pressure on him to make multiple online money transfers amounting to Rs 23.5 lakh.

The fraud came to light after the victim narrated the incident to acquaintances and approached the police on realising he had been duped.

"We are analysing bank transaction details, call records and digital evidence to track down the accused," Patil said.