Accused of sending obscene messages, Karnataka government employee loses Rs 83 lakh in ‘digital arrest’ fraud

To lend credibility to their claims, the accused sent fabricated documents, including fake government letterheads, logos, and forged official papers via WhatsApp, the police said. They subsequently contacted the victim through the Signal app and placed him under a “digital arrest”—placing the government employee under virtual surveillance.

Over the following weeks, the accused coerced the victim into transferring money on multiple occasions. Between February 25 and April 13 this year, he transferred Rs 14.61 lakh from his SBI account to an ICICI Bank account provided by the fraudsters, as per the FIR. He was also pressured into selling gold and liquidating SIP investments, transferring a further Rs 30.61 lakh to an IDFC First Bank account, it added.

Additionally, the FIR said the accused forced the government employee to create a Binance cryptocurrency wallet and transfer Rs 38 lakh in USDT cryptocurrency between March 18 and April 15 this year to a crypto wallet address provided by them.

In total, the government employee lost Rs 83.22 lakh between February 22 and April 17, 2026, before approaching the police. A case has been registered under sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Bagalkot CEN police station.