Bengaluru Woman Duped Of ₹31.83 Crore After Fake Drug Case Threat In Digital Arrest Scam

Bengaluru: In what appears to be the largest amount lost by an individual to the `digital arrest' scamsters, a senior IT professional in Bengaluru has lost Rs 31.83 Crore.

Though the scamsters skimmed her for over six months, the woman remained silent for the fear of implicating her family members in the case. However, when the scamsters abruptly cut off all the contacts, she realised that she had been taken for a raid.

The saga started way back in Sept 15, 2024, when the 57-year-old woman received a call, claiming to be from DHL courier services. The caller said that she had a package in her name, in which there were three credit cards, four passports and MDMA drugs had arrived at the DHL centre in Mumbai.

When she denied any connection with the package, the caller suggested that it could be the work of cyber criminals since her name was linked to the package. She was also asked to report the matter to cybercrime police. Even before she could cut the call, it was transferred to another number, where a person posing as a CBI officer came on the line.

The person posing as a CBI officer warned her against going to the police, stating that the cyber criminals who had misused her identity were surveilling her. He also threatened to implicate her family members, if she ever informed them. With her son's wedding approaching, fearing the repercussions, the woman heeded to their demands.

Over the next few days, she was placed under a so-called `house arrest' via skype call with her camera on. Later, a man identifying himself as a CBI officer Pradeep Singh assigned another man named Rahul Yadav to monitor her for a week. During this period, the woman worked from home.

On Sept 23, 2024, Singh questioned her over skype at a hotel and asked her to declare her assets to the RBI's Financial Intelligence Unit. Since then, she liquidated her fixed deposits and other savings to transfer ₹ 31.83 crore in 187 transactions as per the scamsters' instructions.

She was assured that the money would be transferred back after verification by February 2025. She even received a clearance certificate in December 2024, days before her son's engagement. However, the ordeal continued till March 2025, with the fraudsters giving one or other excuses before ending all communications abruptly on March 26.

The woman has lodged a complaint with the Bengaluru East Cyber Crime Police station on November 14, who will be handing over the case to CID, as the sum lost is over ₹ 3 crore.