Bengaluru: Septuagenarian duped of over Rs 30 lakh in ‘digital arrest’ scam

Bengaluru, Sep 9 (PTI) A 73-year-old man was allegedly defrauded of over Rs 30 lakh in a "digital arrest" scam here by fraudsters impersonating a Deputy Commissioner of Police, a CBI officer, and a judge, police said on Tuesday.

The incident had taken place between August 12 and August 19.

According to the complainant, he received a call at around 6 pm on August 12 from an unknown person claiming to be Sandeep Kumar, a CBI officer.

The caller told him that his name "had appeared in a money laundering case and that items seized in his name, including bank accounts and ATM cards, had been misused for large financial transactions." Shortly after, another person identifying himself as DCP Neeraj Kumar called the victim, claiming to be the investigating officer. He informed the complainant that he was under "digital arrest" and instructed him not to disconnect the call.

On August 13, around 1 pm, the victim was allegedly produced before a “judge” in an online session, where he was made to give an undertaking to prove his innocence. On this pretext, he was induced to transfer Rs 10.99 lakh via RTGS to two separate bank accounts, the FIR stated.

In the following days, the fraudsters, posing as Neeraj Kumar and Sandeep Kumar, continued to communicate with the complainant, extracting additional personal and bank details of him and his family.

On August 18, the complainant was again produced before a “judge” online and directed to transfer another Rs 20 lakh in connection with the purported investigation.

Believing the money would be returned after the probe, he transferred the amount via RTGS to two more accounts.

“By impersonating the DCP, CBI officers, and a judge on online platforms, the accused convinced the complainant and cheated him of a total of Rs 30.99 lakh,” the FIR said.

After realising he had been defrauded, the victim approached the Cyber Crime Police and lodged a complaint on September 6.

The matter is currently under investigation, police added.

In "digital arrest" scams, fraudsters use video calls to impersonate law enforcement officials and accuse victims of serious crimes. PTI AMP SSK