A case of cyber fraud has come to light in Bengaluru, which has exposed the dangerous face of ‘Digital Arrest’ scam. Here, a 57-year-old woman was so intimidated by thugs posing as a fake police officer that she lost more than Rs 2.05 crore. This entire crime took place between 19 June and 27 November. On June 19, the woman received a call from an unknown number.
The caller introduced himself as an employee of Blue Dart Courier Company. He said that drugs were found in a baggage linked to the woman’s Aadhar card. After this, threats were made that Mumbai Police would arrest him. After this the thugs asked the woman to install an app. He was asked to keep in touch continuously through video calls. In this way he was digitally arrested.
According to the FIR, in the first week, the accused kept a constant watch on the woman through video calls and WhatsApp calls, so that she could not contact anyone. The accused used to come on video calls wearing police uniform. He used to call himself an officer of the rank of Inspector and Deputy Commissioner of Police. They used to call the woman from different mobile numbers continuously and demand money.
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According to the police, the thugs threatened the woman that if the money was not given, her son’s life would be in danger. The woman was completely devastated by the fear of arrest. She got involved in his conversation. He sold his two plots in Malur at a low price. Apart from this, he also sold one of his apartments located in Vigyan Nagar. Also took a loan from a bank for money and transferred the amount to the accused.
From June 20 till now, the woman transferred a total of Rs 2 crore 5 lakh 652 to the accounts mentioned by the accused. This sequence continued for months. The thugs continued to threaten him through video calls. The fraud came to light when the accused asked the woman to go to the police station to get a no-objection certificate. The swindlers assured that the entire amount would be returned.
After reaching the police station, the woman realized that she had become a victim of a digital arrest scam. On the basis of his complaint, a case of fraud has been registered at Whitefield Police Station on 27 November under Section 319 (2) and Section 318 (4) of the Indian Justice Code. Along with this, related sections of the Information Technology Act have also been imposed.
Police say that a thorough investigation of this matter is going on. Efforts are being made to identify cyber thugs and catch them. This case once again warns how dangerous calls coming in the name of digital arrest can prove to be. In this way, the government and police are continuously issuing warnings to the people. People are being advised to escape.
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