Cyber fraudsters dupe retired teacher in Karnataka of Rs 1.61 cr in 'digital arrest' scam

Karwar (Karnataka), Jan 2 (PTI) Cyber fraudsters impersonating Mumbai Police officials allegedly swindled a 72-year-old retired teacher of Rs 1.61 crore by placing him under what they described as “digital arrest” through repeated video calls.

The incident involved a resident of the Tibetan Colony in Mundgod of Uttara Kannada district, police said on Friday.

According to the complaint filed with the district police on Thursday, Palden received a WhatsApp call from an unidentified person who introduced himself as an inspector from the Colaba Police Station in Maharashtra.

The caller claimed that several ATM cards had been recovered from the possession of a terrorist arrested in Mumbai and that one of the cards was registered in Palden’s name.

The fraudster further threatened the elderly man by claiming that crores of rupees had been transferred from his bank accounts and that a money laundering case was registered against him.

To make the threat appear credible, the accused conducted video calls while wearing a police uniform and sent fake bank statements to the victim, a senior police officer said.

The complainant was told that to avoid arrest, his funds needed to be deposited into a so-called “National Fund” and that the money would be returned once the investigation was completed.

The fraudsters allegedly warned him not to discuss the matter with anyone and instructed him to report his whereabouts via WhatsApp every two hours, describing the process as a “digital arrest”.

Fearing legal consequences, Palden liquidated his fixed deposits and borrowed money from relatives, transferring a total of Rs 1.61 crore in multiple instalments to the accounts provided by the fraudsters, police said.

Realising later that he had been cheated, Palden approached the Karwar Cyber Crime Police Station, where a case has been registered.

Police said an investigation is underway to trace the accused and the money trail. PTI COR AMP ROH