A shocking incident of digital arrest has come to light from Bengaluru, where a software engineer lost Rs 11.8 crore to fraudsters. The victim has been identified as a 39-year-old techie from GKVK Layout near Hebbal in Bengaluru. The techie filed a complaint on December 12 with the North-East CEN police station. According to the victim’s complaint, the fraud occurred between November 25 and December 12. Police have termed the amount he lost as substantial, especially compared to similar fraud cases.

Fraudster Call, Video Call, Threat Message

The cycle of fraud began on November 11 when the victim received a call from a person who claimed to be an officer of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller informed the techie that a SIM card obtained in his name had been used for illegal advertisements and harassment messages. The caller added that his Aadhaar had been used to acquire the SIM. The techie was further informed that a case had been registered in this regard at Mumbai’s Colaba Police Station.

After this, another caller who identified as police officer contacted him. The man alleged that his Aadhaar was used to open bank account for money laundering. He warned the techie to keep the matter confidential as the fraud involved influential individuals, who were already arrested in similar offences.  The caller also threatened him with physical arrest if he didn’t cooperate in virtual investigation.

The series of calls didn’t stop here as another caller made him download the Skype app. A man dressed in police uniform video called the victim and informed that a businessman, Naresh Goyal had opened a Canara Bank account using the victim’s Aadhaar to conduct transactions worth Rs 6 crore.

On November 25, another fake police officer contacted him on Skype, and claimed that the case against him was being heard on Supreme Court and the hearing needs to be completed. He threatened to arrest his family members if he failed to comply. The fraudsters then cited a fake Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guideline and convinced him to transfer funds to designated accounts for purpose of verification.

Victim Transfers Rs 11.8 Crore

Fearing arrest, the techie transferred Rs 75 lakh to a bank account and Rs 3.41 crore to another account. By December 12, the techie ended up transferring Rs 11.8 crore to several accounts.

As the demands of the fraudsters didn’t stop there, the techie realized that he had been duped. So, he filed a complaint on December 12.

The case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), while investigation is in progress.

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