Digital arrest fraud: Bengaluru homemaker duped of ₹98.4 lakh during two-month ordeal

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

After transferring substantial sums from her bank accounts, the woman pledged her personal gold jewellery to arrange additional funds. | Photo Credit: Photo for representation only

Cyber fraudsters allegedly cheated a 60-year-old homemaker from Bommanahalli, in Bengaluru, of ₹98.4 lakh by falsely implicating her in a money laundering case and subjecting her to a prolonged online ‘investigation’ for nearly two months.

The victim approached the South-East Division Cyber Crime Police on June 5, after narrating her ordeal to family members, who realised she had fallen prey to an elaborate cyber fraud.

According to the complaint, the woman received a phone call on March 18 from a mobile number. The caller introduced himself as an official from Delhi Police and later connected her through WhatsApp to another person claiming to be ‘DCP Bhishma Singh’ from the Delhi Police Crime Branch.

The fraudsters allegedly told the woman that her identity documents had been misused in a money laundering case, and that multiple criminal cases had been registered against her. They further threatened her with arrest, claiming that a Supreme Court warrant had been issued, and warned that failure to cooperate could create legal problems for her family.

Another individual identifying himself as ‘Ravi Kumar’ frequently contacted the woman through WhatsApp, and instructed her to share details of her daily activities. She was told that she was under surveillance as part of an ongoing investigation.

The accused allegedly made video calls posing as Delhi Cyber Crime officials, and convinced the homemaker that she was the subject of a confidential inquiry. Claiming that her bank accounts needed to be verified, they instructed her to transfer all her funds to accounts specified by them, assuring her that the money would be returned once the investigation was completed.

Believing the claims to be genuine, the victim transferred substantial amounts from her bank accounts. To arrange additional funds, she pl