A 57-year-old IT professional from Bengaluru has allegedly lost Rs 31.83 crore to a ‘digital arrest’ fraud over six months, said to be the highest amount lost by a single victim in Karnataka to this kind of scam. The Bengaluru East Cyber Crime, Economic Offences and Narcotics (CEN) police filed an FIR based on her complaint on November 14.
According to the FIR, the woman received a call on September 15, 2024, from someone claiming to represent the DHL courier service. The caller informed her that a suspicious package addressed to her, containing three credit cards, four passports, and prohibited MDMA drugs, had been intercepted at their Andheri facility in Mumbai.
A police officer said the woman initially refused to believe the caller and informed that she did not know about it. But then the caller allegedly suggested that her identity might have been compromised for cybercrime purposes, as her phone number was linked to the parcel. Before she could process this information, the call was seamlessly transferred to another man posing as a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer, said the police.
While the woman attempted to inform her family members, the cyber fraudsters allegedly employed psychological manipulation tactics, warning her against contacting the local police or seeking legal counsel.
They allegedly claimed that the criminals who had stolen her identity were actively surveilling her movements. The scammers escalated their intimidation by threatening to implicate her family members if she disclosed the situation to anyone, as per the complaint.
A police officer mentioned that during this time, the woman’s son’s wedding was around the corner, and she felt trapped, leading her to comply with their demands.
‘Laptop and phone being monitored’
“There were updates every day, and I used to get scary messages and calls, and they wanted me to report all of these to them, and this created more fear for me. I was told that my laptop and phone were being monitored and I should not do anything unnecessary, and I was scared even to check out anything,” the FIR quoted her as saying.
The criminals allegedly placed her under what they termed “house arrest”, forcing her to remain on a Skype video call with her camera constantly activated. A man identifying himself as CBI officer Pradeep Singh then allegedly assigned another man named Rahul Yadav to “monitor” her activities throughout the week while she worked from home.
On September 23, 2024, Singh conducted a formal “interrogation” via Skype at a hotel, instructing her to declare all her assets to what he claimed was the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s Financial Intelligence Unit for verification purposes, she alleged in the complaint.
According to the police, the woman liquidated her fixed deposits and savings, transferring Rs 31.83 crore across 187 separate transactions as directed by the fraudsters. They allegedly assured her the funds would be returned after “verification” by February 2025. To maintain the illusion of legitimacy, they allegedly gave her a “clearance certificate” on December 1, 2024, just days before her son’s engagement ceremony.
Sudden end to communication after six months
The ‘digital arrest’ continued until March 26 of this year, when the perpetrators allegedly ceased all communication suddenly, after providing various excuses for the delay in returning the funds. Throughout the ordeal, she endured constant threats, harassment, and verbal abuse from multiple unknown people, she claimed in the complaint.
She told the police that she delayed reporting due to her initial shock, her preoccupation with her son’s wedding preparations in June, subsequent international travel, and a month-long illness.
“If only she had informed someone or even cut the call, she would have been safe,” said a senior police officer investigating the case. Given the massive sum involved, authorities expect that the investigation will be transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The police registered a case under sections 66 (hacking), 66(c) (identity theft), 66(d) (cheating by personation using a computer resource) of the Information Technology (IT) Act and sections 308 (extortion) and 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property or a valuable security) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The 'digital arrest' continued until March 26 of this year, when the perpetrators allegedly ceased all communication suddenly. (File) 
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